Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Personal trainers have the responsibility of not only helping clients achieve physical fitness, but also of promoting their overall well-being. To be effective in this goal, it is crucial for personal trainers to have a deep understanding of the psychological and emotional factors that influence the client's experience while working out. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book, Flow, is a great resource to study in this regard, as it delves into the concept of flow state, which is a state of optimal experience characterized by intense focus, enjoyment, and a sense of control. Understanding this concept can help personal trainers to design exercise plans that are challenging yet achievable, leading to increased motivation and engagement in clients. Additionally, understanding how to create the conditions that promote flow can help personal trainers to create a more enjoyable and satisfying workout experience for their clients, leading to better adherence and better results. Furthermore, by understanding the concept of flow, personal trainers can assist clients to set goals that are in line with their values, passions, and overall well-being, leading to a more holistic approach and better results.
The Book and The Author
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (1990) by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, one of the co-founders of the positive psychology movement, is a classic in popular psychology.
In this book, Csikszentmihalyi (‘chick-sent-me-high’) draws on decades of research on the positive aspects of human experience to answer one question: When do people feel most happy?
Rather than a passive, receptive state of relaxation, Csikszentmihalyi argues that happiness is active.
He recalls in an interview how he would watch painters and was fascinated by how they would forget everything while working. He was surprised that as soon as they would finish one painting they would immediately begin another, and realized that these artists wanted to be fully immersed in the act of creating.
Intrigued, Csikszentmihalyi studied this immersive state and saw that it applied to many other areas of life, whether it was rock climbing, basketball, dance, music or chess.
People describe themselves as most ‘happy’ when they are so absorbed in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. Csikszentmihalyi coined the term ‘flow’ to describe this state, and showed that it consists of seven elements:
A challenging activity that requires skills.
A merging of action and awareness.
Clear goals and feedback.
Concentration on the task at hand.
A paradox of control.
A loss of self-consciousness.
A transformation of time.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience was a bestseller in 1990 and Csikszentmihalyi applied his concept to other areas in his later books, including The Evolving Self (1993), Creativity (1996) and Good Business (2003). He received several awards for his academic work, including:
The Clifton Strengths Prize in 2009.
The Széchenyi Prize in 2011.
The Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 2014.
Summary
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience has ten chapters:
Happiness Revisited
The Anatomy of Consciousness
Enjoyment and The Quality of Life
The Conditions of Flow
The Body in Flow
The Flow of Thought
Work as Flow
Enjoying Solitude and Other People
Creating Chaos
The Making of Meaning
In the first chapter, Csikszentmihalyi discusses how happiness is poorly understood, its roots, how culture shields against unhappiness, the responsibility of the individual to reclaim happiness, and the general paths taken to achieve it.
In the second chapter, he discusses how consciousness works and how it is controlled.
In the third, he discusses how the times of struggle and overcoming challenges are the most enjoyable times of people’s lives.
In the fourth chapter, he explains why some things are more enjoyable than others by outlining the conditions of flow.
In chapters five and six, he discusses the almost infinite opportunities for creating flow by controlling the mind via physical, sensory and symbolic skills, such as athletics, music, yoga, poetry, philosophy and mathematics.
In chapters seven and eight, Csikszentmihalyi discusses how to transform jobs into flow-producing activities, and similarly with relationships with parents, spouses, children and friends.
In chapter nine, he discusses how people manage to create flow experiences despite adversity.
And in chapter ten, he discusses how people organize all their flow experiences into a way of life, so that they understand their purpose, feel in control, and enjoy even the most mundane experiences.
Discussion Questions
Do people misunderstand happiness?
What is consciousness and is it something we control?
Are the periods of struggling to overcome challenges the most enjoyable of our lives?
Are the seven elements of flow listed by Csikszentmihalyi accurate?
Are there infinite opportunities for flow in our daily lives?
Can we transform our jobs and relationships into flow-producing activities?
Does flow explain how we manage to enjoy life despite adversity?
Do we join all our experiences into a meaningful pattern and does this bring us a sense of control, meaning, and enjoyment to even the most mundane experiences?
Quotes
“The best moments in our lives, are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times—although such experiences can also be enjoyable, if we have worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”
“Most enjoyable activities are not natural; they demand an effort that initially one is reluctant to make. But once the interaction starts to provide feedback to the person's skills, it usually begins to be intrinsically rewarding.”
“People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy.”
Pros and Cons
Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow is optimistic and widely applicable. By framing situations in terms of challenge and skill, he helps us predict when we are likely to feel anxious or bored, and explains why. He also offers a solution, namely: setting clear goals and receiving feedback.
However, while there is evidence to support the truth and value of the flow state, some critics argue that immersion into productivity can become a coping mechanism for an objectively bad situation, such as in workaholism.
This raises a question that seems unanswered: Is it psychologically healthy to remain in a bad situation as long as we readjust our ‘approach’ and remain in flow?
When we are so absorbed in an activity that nothing else seems to matter, perhaps it is wise to remember that something else may indeed matter.
Overall Assessment
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (1990) is an informative and inspirational book that challenges our assumptions about happiness being a passive, receptive or relaxing state, and puts forward a new way of thinking about happiness that is more active, engaging and focused.
However, it is not a how-to book: it shows us what flow is without showing us how it should be applied in our lives.
In the context of coaching, the book is useful because it helps coaches pay attention to the emotions of participants, note any anxieties or boredom, and appropriately adjust tasks to suit the needs of individual participants.
I recommend the book for those who are interested in questions about happiness, meaning and purpose, and for those who are interested in the positive psychology tradition.
Similar Books
Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by Martin E. P. Seligman
Peak: How All of Us Can Achieve Extraordinary Things by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
Further Information
TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, 2008. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, the secret to happiness. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXIeFJCqsPs> [Accessed 1 October 2022].
References
Claremont Graduate University. 2022. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi · The Father of FlowClaremont Graduate University. [online] Available at: <https://www.cgu.edu/people/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/> [Accessed 1 October 2022].
https://www.cgu.edu/people/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/
McCreedy, R., 2020. A Critique of “Flow” | Ryan T.W. McCreedy. [online] Blogs.harvard.edu. Available at: <http://blogs.harvard.edu/ryanmccreedy/2020/05/07/a-critique-of-flow/> [Accessed 1 October 2022].