Flow is a mental state in which a person is fully immersed in an activity, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity). It is a state of complete absorption in what one is doing, resulting in a transformation in ones sense of time). Flow is the melting together of action and consciousness, requiring a high level of concentration). It is used as a coping skill for stress and anxiety when productively pursuing a form of leisure that matches ones skill set).
Flow is a concept that comes from the field of positive psychology, which is the study of things that help humans thrive. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who was an influential part of the movement, coined the term. Flow shares many characteristics with hyperfocus, which is a state of intense concentration or focus on an activity or subject). However, hyperfocus is not always described in a positive light, as it can sometimes cause a person to become unfocused or to start several projects but complete few).
Conditions for flow include engaging in an activity that exists between the boundary of boredom and anxiety, where the task is not too challenging that one feels anxious, nor too easy that one feels bored. Indications that one is in flow include time becoming irrelevant, not thinking about oneself but only the activity, not being interrupted by extraneous thoughts, and finding the activity itself to be the primary reward.
In summary, flow is a mental state of complete absorption in an activity, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. It is a concept that comes from the field of positive psychology and is used as a coping skill for stress and anxiety. Conditions for flow include engaging in an activity that exists between the boundary of boredom and anxiety, and indications that one is in flow include time becoming irrelevant and not being interrupted by extraneous thoughts.
