How many times we have heard the word “flow”? to describe this bliss state where creativity flows abundantly
In Flow – The Psychology of optimal experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, he explores in depth this well being state that increases productivity, think about this state, whenever we experience it, nothing else matters and concentration is at its prime.
For all analytical creatives out there we have a visual formula, it feed both sides of the brain, fantastic I know! The flow diagram depicts the variables as follows: you do not want the activity to be too challenging as to discourage you and to experience anxiety, also you do not want for such activity to be effortless or you can loose interest easily. It is when these two coexist harmoniously as in its equilibrium we find flow.
As you can also tell by the graph A4 that it is in the chapter 4 of the book, this it is the sweet spot to be in as concentration is so intense there is no attention left over to think about anything irrelevant, it is here where we become oblivious of the sense of time. It also says that while occasionally flow can occur by chance or spontaneously, it is more likely that flow will result from a structured activity, or from an individual’s ability to make flow occur, or both.
Another interesting fact it is the one about the indigenous in the Shuswap region of Canada, their tribe had enough resources and were content where they were but the elders will make sure to mobilize everyone to a different location every 25-30 years cycle, this will make it so there are new areas to explore, stimuli, challenges, growth. I can certainly relate as I have lived in at least three different countries by not so structured increments nonetheless all places introduced a new set of adaptation, challenges, momentum, experiences and opportunities for improvement.
The key it is to progressively advance and keep moving forward towards improvement (at our own pace, of course). May we often loose ourselves in our purpose, expressions and in our passions.