Flow: The Key To Creativity and Wellbeing

Do you remember that moment when creativity and productivity sprung from your mind smoothly? According to positive psychology practitioner Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, this state is called flow, and it is an important contributor to creativity and well-being.

The experience of flow is universal and it has been reported to occur across different classes, genders, ages, cultures and it can be experienced in many types of activities (Nakamura et al., 2009). In recent years, the concept of flow has been studied by researchers and they have found very interesting results.

To view the original article click here 

Csikszentmihalyi describes 8 characteristics of flow:

Complete concentration on the task
Clarity of goals and reward in mind and immediate feedback
Transformation of time (speeding up/slowing down of time)
The experience is intrinsically rewarding, has an end itself
Effortlessness and ease
There is a balance between challenge and skills
Actions and awareness are merged, losing self-conscious rumination
There is a feeling of control over the task
Who experiences flow?