Achieving Flow
Acrylic on canvas / 18” by 24”/ $ 260
When are you the happiest?
Do you believe most people are happy? Are you? Take a moment to consider those moments you experienced pure joy, when glee and pleasure embraced you, and ask yourself what precipitated that feeling. No, I am not talking about sex, though that too can be satisfying. Instead remember more instances that provided extended contentment and comfort. Why do you think you felt so satisfied?
Was your pleasure dependent on money or was it caused by an activity you engaged in? Psychologist Abraham Maslow tried to understand what contributed to feelings of fulfillment. He started with a pyramid explaining motivation. With basic needs at the base and aesthetics at the peak, he claimed that survival needs have to be satisfied first. Only when basic concerns are met, like food, shelter and love, does a person become motivated enough to fill higher levels leading to self-actualization.
In my late 20’s I was comfortably situated with most of my basic needs met. I started playing the flute thinking I would attain a degree of excellence. Every day I practiced dutifully and even played with musicians who didn’t mind accompanying a novice. Eventually a few friends and I formed a chamber music group. Most of the players had learned their instruments as kids. They were good and relaxed at what they did and best of all tolerant my awkwardness. Though I played for eight years I never achieved a level of comfort. Playing the flute was always an effort in concentration and I found it impossible to lose myself in the music.
Painting is a different matter. No longer am I self-conscious about what I am doing. I picked up a brush over thirty years ago and gave myself over to the process even when completed canvases were marginal. I never thought about becoming a master artist but more about practicing so I could put the images in my mind on canvas. After a great many years, I executed a picture that appeared magically and effortlessly on my canvas. It was a mystical experience. I was immersed in pure creation with no thought of myself. It was a wonderful feeling that left me with an internal glow. What happened?
Hungarian psychologist, Mahaly Cxikszentmihalyi was fascinated by Maslow’s work and took his findings a step further. Mahalo provided a scientific explanation for peak experiences. After studying the happiness factor in thousands of people he developed a concept defined as a “state of flow.” It occurs to those who are so completely absorbed in an activity that they achieve a loss of self-consciousness. It is as though they are in an emotionless state yet total control of what they are engaged in. A monk might call it reaching Zen, a perfect state of equilibrium.
Dr. Csikszentmihalyi, founder of the positive psychology movement, began his research by studying artists and other creative people. His subjects found the process of creating more important than the finished work itself. During times of intense focus and innovation they entered a “flow” state in which Mahaly identified seven factors:
1 You’re completely involved in what you’re doing: you’re completely focused and concentrated.
2 There’s a sense of ecstasy–of being outside of everyday reality.
3 There’s a great inner clarity: you know what needs to be done and you get immediate feedback on how well you’re doing.
4 You know that the activity is doable, that you have the necessary skills to complete the task successfully.
5 You lose your sense of self and all of your worries and concerns drift away.
6 You lose track of time and you’re completely focused on the present moment.
7 There’s an intrinsic motivation—whatever produces flow becomes it’s own reward.
Not content to stop there Mahaly broadened his research base to encompass various socio-economic groups engaged in a wide variety of jobs, hobbies, and sporting activities. He analyzed those who involved in what he calls high-flow activities. Their goals required them to be motivated enough to practice in order to obtain skill and concentration. By being focused in their efforts they were more likely to develop long term happiness than those engaged in low-flow activities such as video games, internet surfing and socializing. In other words, hard work pays off while low-effort enterprises often contribute to depression and poor self-esteem.
In another study Mahaly worked with American teenagers. Social activities were rated and correlated to different levels of happiness. Being alone rated the lowest level while activities with friends rated highest. His colleagues were surprised to discover that those who spent more time pleasure reading had lower levels of happiness that those involved in social activities. They concluded that feeling good about the self, excited, proud, sociable, and active are necessary conditions for a flow experience and the strongest predictors of long-term happiness.
Why? Dr. Csikszentmaihalyi explained in a Ted Talk that the nervous system is incapable of processing more that 110 bits of information per second. Listening to someone speak involves processing 60 bits per second which explains why it is difficult to pay attention to two people talking at the same time. When completely involved in the process of creating you don’t have enough attention left over to monitor how your body feels, whether you are hungry or not, or thoughts about your next task. In other words, you become “zoned out.” You flow.
Flow is studied by psychologists world-wide and applied to all types of professions with similar findings. Streetwise, now a journeyman industrial painter, tells me what it is like to be on on the top of an eighty foot water tower. His sense self-awareness disappears as he expertly moves his brush back and forth without distraction. Work feels effortless even when hanging fearlessly over the edge. In those moments he is in a state of flow.
Developing goals, striving to achieve them, learning to focus and finally attaining competency is the formula for reaching a pure state of being, of living “in the zone.” Dr. Csikszentmihalyiu says that learning how to get there quickly so you can enter flow more often leads to the most productive and creative state of mind in which to work. It is a key to well being and an important component of happiness.
Are you one of the fortunate people who have experienced a state of flow? How long does the feeling last? Does it spill over to the rest of your life and make you happy?
Do share your story below.
References:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
https://daringtolivefully.com/how-to-enter-the-flow-state – How to enter the flow state
http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/science-of-happiness/getting-in-the-flow/ – about Mahaly Cxikszentmihalyi and a state of flow.
https://daringtolivefully.com/how-to-enter-the-flow-state – How to enter the flow state
Art work is always for sale. Contact me at marilynne@eichingerfineart.com.
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For sale on Amazon by Marilynne Eichinger: The True Story of Streetwise, overcoming homelessness and beating the odds. Go to AMAZON .
