Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi And Flow: The Psychology Behind Optimal Experience

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is one of the most successful modern psychologists. People all over the world recognize his name, even though it is very difficult to pronounce. He calls the theory his “psychology of optimal experience”. This is because he emphasizes the concept of “flow” or mindfulness.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was born in a small Italian town once known as Fiume. Today it is part of Croatia and goes by the name Rijeka. His family was Hungarian and had an extremely difficult time during World War II. That led Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi to immigrate to the United States in 1956, with only a few cents in his pocket.

As soon as he arrived in the United States, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi enrolled in the University of Chicago’s psychology program. He received his Ph.D. in 1965 and published the book Flow , not long after. The book has become an important point of reference in modern psychology. He is still seen as one of the most important people in a discipline called ” positive psychology “.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and the concept of “flow”

The idea behind Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s theory is that people are much happier when they enter a state of “flow”. This happens when you do something that completely catches your attention. Many people will call this “being in the zone”, in other words: completely absorbed in something and absolute joy while doing so.

This is how Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes the state of flight: “to be fully involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Every action, movement and thought inevitably follows from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you use your skills to the fullest. ”

What it is is thus a state where you focus all your attention on the task or activity you have at hand. You also have a deep motivation that comes with that attention. Basically you want to be there and do what you do. The result of all this is harmony, balance and most importantly, happiness. The state of flow also goes by another name: “optimal experience”.

Things that lead to optimal experience

Csikszentmihalyi conducted a 12-year study of people around the world. He discovered that, regardless of age, nationality or living conditions, almost everyone described the optimal experience in a very similar way. It helped him reach a definition of some of the things that come up when you enter a state of flow. Here they are:

• A challenge that allows you to use all your skills. If the challenge requires the highest level of your skills, it is very likely that you will start to float.
• Focus and concentration. In a state of flow, your focus is so centered that the world and your ego disappear completely. Your whole being focuses on one thing, and you go into an extreme state of concentration.
• Clearly defined goals. Csikszentmihalyi found that we get more pleasure from things when we have clear goals. If they are vague or unclear, your attention will fade.
• Direct, immediate feedback. People need to get short-term feedback to strengthen their behavior. Feeling you are on the right track increases the intensity of your experience.
• Exclusion of other information. In move mode, there is no room for information that is not related to the current activity.

• A sense of control. When you float, you feel very in control of what is happening. It is like a compass for self-knowledge.
• You lose your sense of self-awareness. In such states, it is almost as if your sense of self has disappeared. What this does is create a kind of freedom effect in you.
• A change in your perception of time. Experiencing this condition gives you the feeling that time has been compressed. Three hours will feel like 30 seconds in a state of flow.

Use this yourself

People have used Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s ideas in many different fields. People in education, psychotherapy and even business have found a good use for them. In addition, each of you has probably had one of these optimal experiences, or moving conditions before. You may even be able to get them more often if you really work hard on what he says are the best ways to get into this state.