The flow experience: experience absolute concentration

Do you know the feeling of complete absorption? When you work, do sports or pursue a hobby and are completely absorbed in it? Time flies, you completely ignore your surroundings, everything comes easily to you, you have full control - a pretty good feeling, right? In German, this state is called functional or creative desire . And because that's a pretty strange word, we prefer to call this state as it is commonly known: flow .

In this story we will tell you what exactly the flow experience is, who invented the theory behind it, how you can achieve the flow state and how the flow concept can specifically help you in sports, at work or in everyday life.

What does that actually mean exactly: experiencing flow?

Sometimes it happens that we are “ in the zone ,” as basketball players like to say. We reach a state where whatever we are doing flows. It's easy to do, it makes us infinitely happy, hours seem to pass in seconds - we reach an almost ecstatic state of absolute concentration . We can often create things of impressive beauty, achieve top sporting performance or push ourselves mentally beyond our limits. We achieve this state, the flow experience, through a highly individual flow approach: certain factors have to mesh together so that we can experience the flow. We'll tell you what they are in a moment...

The Flow Theory: Origin, Definition and Meaning

The Hungarian Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (pronounced roughly Mihaji Tschik-Sent-Mihaji ) not only had a very exciting job as a happiness researcher, he is also considered the creator of the flow theory. According to his findings, psychology defines the flow state or the flow experience as an exhilarating feeling of complete absorption in an activity .

The “symptoms” : What you do is so easy that you block out everything around you because of the happiness and focus. It doesn't matter whether this activity is purely mental or physical. The almost hypnotic state can occur with hobbies such as painting or crafts, but also with running and cycling or in the office and at work .

According to Csíkszentmihályi, the only important thing is that the task you undertake is neither too difficult nor too easy for you. If it is exactly in the middle between fear (from being overwhelmed) and boredom (from being under-challenged) , it can trigger the flow state. So you need just the right amount of motivation for the flow. Does it still sound too theoretical and vague to you? Then let’s take a look together at how you can specifically experience the flow.

During the flow experience you are highly concentrated and everything comes easy to you. Even climbing.

@iStock.com/Solovyova

How do you achieve flow state?

Both the path to the flow state and the flow experience itself are different for each person. So there is neither one tactic nor a guarantee that you can get into the flow anytime and anywhere. But with these tips you can increase your chances. Are you coming to the Flow Zone?

Full concentration on the matter

No matter what you have in mind, the flow state can only happen if you give your full concentration to your activity. In concrete terms, this means that you put your cell phone away and turn off all other disruptive factors. Focus is the magic word . By the way, the Pomodoro technique can help you with this. You can find more information about this in our story about poor concentration .

Basically, if you approach something half-heartedly or distractedly, the flow experience will not occur. Also important: Be aware of what is necessary to complete an activity successfully. What do you need to win a match, paint a picture, work through a mountain of files or make a chair? This is the only way to know whether a task is too boring or too difficult (see below).

Especially when faced with mental challenges, it is important that body and mind are optimally cared for . In our online shop you will find numerous delicious dextrose products put together by experts that offer you quickly available carbohydrates. These provide your muscles and brain with the nutrients they need .

Not too much, not too little: the healthy medium for flow

The flow concept is based on the principle of healthy mediocrity. Specifically, this means that, according to Csíkszentmihályi, only those tasks, challenges and activities that are neither too difficult (i.e. overwhelming) nor too easy (i.e. under-challenging) can trigger the flow state. But how can you design a task so that it has flow potential?

For example, you can spice up tasks that are boring or too easy . It is important that you break up routines and set new challenges. More repetitions in strength training, completing work faster in the office (tighter deadlines can work wonders here) or working particularly cleanly in the workshop can relieve boredom.

Overwhelming tasks, on the other hand, make things particularly easy for you: simply reduce the difficulty . In endurance and strength sports you can change distances, times or weights, take the pressure off a task at work by tackling it earlier or dividing it into several milestones.

It is also important to approach the tasks fit and alert . Whether it's diet, sleep or your state of mind: if everything isn't in balance, the flow state can become difficult.

Don’t chase the flow – it comes to you

You can't force the flow. That's why it's important to tackle every task for its own sake - and not for rewards or to achieve a certain state. It's a bit like the runner's high when running : sometimes it works. Not sometimes.

Sport, job, hobby: The flow concept in everyday life

As already mentioned, flow access, i.e. how you can get into the flow state, is different for everyone. But the flow itself almost always has the same effects:

• You have everything under control and everything comes easily to you
• You perceive time differently : hours seem to pass in seconds
• You almost completely block out your surroundings
• You are happy and relaxed - fears and worries disappear
• The action itself makes you happy - reward and result are secondary

You guessed it: These are not the worst factors for successful creation.

Flow can promote a positive dynamic at work : If the tasks are distributed so that everyone feels sufficiently challenged but not overwhelmed, this can increase motivation - regardless of whether the individual employees experience the flow or not. However, by choosing tasks fairly and carefully, the chances of achieving the flow state increase. And as shown, this increases the well-being of the people who experience it. It is not for nothing that the modern work concepts New Work and Deep Work take up many aspects of flow theory.

Flow can make new successes possible in sport . Whether you're running, cycling, swimming, strength training or even e-sports : If you're in the "flow zone", you often don't even notice what you're doing. You run, play, lift for the pure joy of it - the goal doesn't matter, the pressure is no longer there. It's all about the moment. And don't worry: overloading is hardly possible. If your body and mind are exhausted, you almost automatically fall from the flow state back into the here and now.

Flow can open up new avenues for us in our hobbies . We are fully dedicated to what we are doing. We paint pictures that we never knew we could paint, we write songs without even taking a break, learn languages ​​in record time or crack high scores while gaming. We approach the matter with confidence, set ourselves realistic goals - and make a hobby what it should be: not self-improvement, nothing for others or social media - but simply something good for our well-being. For happy moments. For us.

* contains carbohydrates

A varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are important.

 

SOURCES

https://www.cgu.edu/people/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/

https://wpgs.de/fachtexte/motivation/flow-erleben-theorie-csikszentmihalyi/

IMAGE CREDITS

Header image: @ iStock.com/mihtiander