Human Development
Flow experience
Description:
A holistic awareness experienced when one acts with total involvement in a task, so that action succeeds action without conscious intervention by one's self. It is achieved in attempting to meet challenges which one has previously defined as difficult but possible: this may be in [competition] (whether sports, politics or whatever); in [chance] (challenging the unpredictable, as in gambling); in [mimicry] (transcending personal limits in theatre, dance, etc); or in [vertigo] (the altering of consciousness by intentionally placing one's self in uncertain conditions, as in mountaineering, skiing or sky-diving).Such awareness is thus the result of freely choosing to express one's self creatively in conditions of uncertainty or risk. Movement becomes a continuous flow, a means of [self-communication] when action and awareness merge. Concentration is heightened and focused on the task in hand; there is acute awareness of the smallest sensation, little awareness of anything outside the present time and place. Individuality is transcended as consideration of the self becomes irrelevant, and there is no room for fear. There is an intense flow of energy used to maximum effect and a minimum of wasted effort.
The essence of the experience is that the task is not necessary but chosen for non-material ends. It is in the balance position between [boredom] and alienation (too little stimulus or challenge) and [panic] (when the task is seen as almost beyond one's capabilities). It is sought through a variety of engrossing, compulsive or addictive activities but, once experienced, may carry over into less challenging, more mundane events which are more rewarding as a result.
Narrower:
Sexual experienceFlow experience through workFlow experience through thoughtFlow experience through the senses Related:
RecreationFreedom of choice