The Power of Flow and Delight

The Power of Flow and Delight

I talk a lot about happiness.

Most of us think a lot about happiness.

And don’t get me wrong, happiness is important and crucial for living a healthy and good life.

But so too are many other emotions, including even other (lesser known) positive emotions.

So today we focus on flow and delight, two constructs very deserving of more attention and consideration …

via Psychology Today by Tracy A Dennis-Tiwary

KEY POINTS

  • Flow occurs when one’s skill level is a good match for the difficulty of an activity.
  • Achieving flow has been associated with better learning, productivity, and emotional well-being.
  • Exercise, which primes flow, predicts mental health: physical activity lowers risk for anxiety disorders.
  • Delight emerges out of a state of curiosity and can be used to achieve flow.

Mental health can sometimes feel like a full-time occupation: the pitfalls and risks seem ubiquitous and the achievement of some perfect state of mental health exhausting and nebulous. If you’re feeling this way: Let go of the idea that mental health is a state of perfect happiness to achieve, and instead engage in the imperfect, messy work of being human. That’s where mental health resides. A good place to start: Pay attention to the present moment.

You’ve probably heard about the benefits of being in the present moment: Be here now. Meditation is one of the great ways to achieve this. But you might not be a person who meditates. Things like mindfulness aren’t for everyone. Another way of being in the present is called flow, or being in the zone. In a state of flow, you are completely immersed in an activity, feeling energized, focused, and fully involved. This feeling of flow brings a lot of enjoyment. It’s a reward in and of itself. People lose track of time in the state of flow. Time flies when you’re in flow.

Flow Is All About Balance
One of the originators of the concept of flow is Mihalyi Csíkszentmihályi, who developed it as a theory of learning. Flow is all about balance, it occurs when one’s skill level is a good match for the difficulty of an activity. When that balance is out of whack, other states occur, like relaxation, anxiety, and boredom. When you’re in a flow state, you know you’re capable of doing what you need to do, even if it’s difficult. Time and sense of self disappear, and you become part of something bigger. It’s losing yourself in the best sense of the phrase. In that perfect balance between skill and challenge, people are totally immersed in the process, concentrated in their focus, and therefore learn better.

In contrast, a learner might feel the pleasant feeling of relaxation when their skill level far exceeds the difficulty of the task, but they won’t learn as well. When learners feel anxiety because their skill level is far too low to meet the challenges of a task, they also don’t learn as well. Flow is about that sweet spot and, like mindfulness, immerses you in the rich and thick present moment…

… keep reading the full & original article HERE