Comments on: Beyond arousal and control: “Flow”

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:01:58 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by FinFlaneur: Hm, it takes 10 years of training on average to get into the ecstatic “flow” of high-skill, high-challenge activity: http://bit.ly/1Ey3g4…

By: andreaskluth

andreaskluth — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:58:00 +0000

As of this morning, I feel somewhere on the edge of anxiety and arousal. Changes by the minute, I am discovering.

By: andreaskluth

andreaskluth — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:56:45 +0000

Oh boy. I dread your answer to that last one.

By: ostrix

ostrix — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:23:52 +0000

Absolutely great and irrefragable. Naturally, I tried to place myself in the diagram, and it made me feel content to realize that I’m in the right quarter ))) Not flow, not yet. But I’m getting there, being aroused, being challenged, learning the skills and cooling down my sparkling energy from time to time (control). Learning to focus and meditate )))

Thanks for bringing up the topic!

By: Thomas Stazyk

Thomas Stazyk — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:55:12 +0000

Thanks for the post! I’m a Csíkszentmihályi devotee, but I hadn’t seen the graphic that you’ve included. I’ve been trying to decide which sector I spend most time in when I’m reading the Economist!

By: Cheri

Cheri — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:51:55 +0000

Ouch.

Who is a great thinker today, American or not?

By: exuvia

exuvia — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:39:34 +0000

Pronounced: “cheek-sent-me-high-ee”
WIKIPEDIA

By: Phillip S Phogg

Phillip S Phogg — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:38:29 +0000

Why didn’t Mihaly Whats-His-name do the sensible thing and Americanize his name so Americans could say it?

How about Mike Chick? What name would better resonate with the great American thinking public?

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:50:05 +0000

Going by the diagram, I would consider ‘fun’ to be synonymous with flow rather than a component of Flow . High skill level+high level of challenge
= Fun=Flow.

What interests me is whether people can continue practising and refining something which doesn’t challenge them for long enough to reach a state of relaxation and hence flow. Surely boredom would predominate in a situation like that.I believe most people would opt for the first solution (find something you want to master)than the second(keep at it even if it bores you).

By: Jens

Jens — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:41:35 +0000

I’ve heard the full name pronounced as “Me high, Lee. Chick sent me high, Lee”.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:01:29 +0000

“Stupidity” is a social commentary on the intentional push away from learning. A self imposed apathy & mental sloth as it were. It isn’t great art but is certainly a conversation starter if nothing else. It could be compared to “Supersize Me,” without the calories.

By: andreaskluth

andreaskluth — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:31:02 +0000

That’s as good a pronunciation as any I can think of.

So, all of you have heard about this guy long ago, it seems.

Amazing. he’s fairly new to me. I live a sheltered life.

By: andreaskluth

andreaskluth — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:29:16 +0000

Fun, absolutely.

That said, i also recall the images of Zen disciples (or violinists or acrobats….) working really, really hard, fun or no fun, for many years to achieve the mastery which then … suddenly and unannounced, allows them to enter flow.

Perhaps the lesson is: Have fun, but press on even when it sometimes stops being fun.

By: andreaskluth

andreaskluth — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:25:54 +0000

That’s part of what I love about flow: That absorption and mastery can happen during lofty tasks and “lowly” tasks alike. You can flow while mopping the floor.

By: andreaskluth

andreaskluth — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:23:58 +0000

Thanks for noticing it on the previous post! I’ve now moved it to this one.

One risk of an intimate medium such as blogging is that the writer sooner or later assumes that readers can read his mind. I realized I was assuming that when I put the diagram above the previous post without explanation, which made no sense.

“Stupidity” is … what? An intelligent movie about people being stupid?

By: Mr. Crotchety

Mr. Crotchety — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:33:04 +0000

I’ve always pronounced it “chickenshit-m’holly.” How do you pronounce it?

Not respectful, I know. But, that’s how I read it the first time (many years ago) and I can’t see it any other way.

By: Cheri

Cheri — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:04:02 +0000

A meaningful reminder to all of us to stay engaged–in the game–in the mix.

I would add fun, a topic you addressed earlier this month.
http://andreaskluth.org/2009/10/10/the-fun-theory-of-life/

Not sure how the equation might look:

Learning + fun +practicing +fun +refining = challenge +fun= flow.

By: kempton

kempton — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:25:32 +0000

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi’s “Creativity : Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention” is one of my favourite book.

Now, I forgot which book of his (may be “Flow, The Psychology of Optimal Experienc”?) I heard the wonderful story of a factory machinist that is very good with fixing things, he enjoys his garden so much that he machined an irrigation system that lets him see rainbows at night with a set of lights.

By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:04:44 +0000

I have to say this really hit the spot tonight. The other night I stumbled upon this piece on netflix http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399704/. Its not directly related, but I felt like it really linked with the rampant pride-in-apathy I see around us. Its amazing, and ironic how much effort goes into maintaining the path of least resistance. I saw the diagram on your post “The Economist: bland, trite and worthy?” and loved it there. I’m glad you’ve gone more in depth with this.