‘An optimal state of consciousness’: is flow the secret to happiness?
It can happen when doing ‘just about anything’ – experts share how to get ‘in the zone’, and what can pull you outWhat is the secret to happiness? In a 2004 Ted Talk, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi boldly claimed to have the answer: flow.Flow is the experience of being completely absorbed in a particular task. Sometimes we call it being “in the zone”. Csikszentmihalyi described it in his Ted Talk as an “effortless, spontaneous feeling” and an “ecstatic state”.An intense focus that “leads to a sense of ecstasy”Knowing exactly what you want from one moment to the nextGetting immediate feedback on what you are doingKnowing your goal is achievable, even if it is difficultLosing track of timeForgetting yourself – you are so focused on your task that any self-consciousness disappearsFeeling part of something bigger than yourself Continue reading...
It can happen when doing ‘just about anything’ – experts share how to get ‘in the zone’, and what can pull you out
What is the secret to happiness? In a 2004 Ted Talk, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi boldly claimed to have the answer: flow.
Flow is the experience of being completely absorbed in a particular task. Sometimes we call it being “in the zone”. Csikszentmihalyi described it in his Ted Talk as an “effortless, spontaneous feeling” and an “ecstatic state”.
An intense focus that “leads to a sense of ecstasy”
Knowing exactly what you want from one moment to the next
Getting immediate feedback on what you are doing
Knowing your goal is achievable, even if it is difficult
Losing track of time
Forgetting yourself – you are so focused on your task that any self-consciousness disappears
Feeling part of something bigger than yourself Continue reading...
