Chapter 5 of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow is titled, The Body In Flow. This Chapter deals with the kinesic contribution to optimal experiences and flow. The word contribute is an important descriptor; the author warns the reader: “The body does not produce flow merely by its movements. The mind is always involved as well.” Csikszentmihalyi defines the contribution of the body as broadly encompassing movement and the contribution of the senses. Regardless of the bodily function, we must train the body in the skills needed to do and enjoy the activity. Learning allows us to be good, or at least better than we were yesterday, in the skill. This is the prerequisite for the mental components of flow. Neither the mental nor physical components are sufficient to create an optimum experience alone.
The author lays out a set of steps (and I love a good list) for integrating the physical into the process of evoking flow:
- Set an overall goal and as many subgoals as is realistically feasible.
- Find ways of measuring progress toward the specific goals chosen.
- Keep concentrating on what one is doing, and keep making finer and finer distinctions to create challenges in the challenge.
- Develop the skills necessary to interact with opportunities available.
- Keep raising the stakes if the activity becomes boring.
The five steps are a self-correcting feedback loop combined with a perpetual motion machine. I have one tweak to the process. First, I agree that challenges force us to concentrate and grow. The challenge needs to incorporate the big picture. The summit to attain if you were climbing mountains. The agilist in me reacts poorly to the big upfront plan, “and as many subgoals as is realistically feasible” in step 1. I am more confident with the approach if we incorporate fast feedback loops and continual adjustments.
In the end, step 5 might be the most often overlooked. Optimal experiences only happen if we’re continually growing and pushing the boundaries. Those boundaries change, expanding and contracting, as we grow and age. Raising the stakes at times means changing the goal. This suggests adding a sixth step: repeat until dead.
Optimal experiences are an outcome of the mental and physical. Over the years, I have used my running time to generate flow experiences. When working on skills, such as recovering from an injury those experiences are much rarer; my head isn’t in it. Similarly when I listen to podcasts or books contemplative flow isn’t possible even though the body is willing. I struggle with two competing interests, deep thought flow experiences or learning/entertainment distraction…Stated that way the decision between the two trade-offs shouldn’t be hard.
Buy a copy and read along – https://amzn.to/4b5kPmb
Week 1: Preface and Logistics – https://bit.ly/3WLjFHU
Week 2: Happiness – https://bit.ly/4dUSpNg
Week 3: Consciousness – https://bit.ly/4bEu3pN
Week 4: Enjoyment and The Quality of Life – https://bit.ly/4eeknDQ
Week 5: The Conditions Of Flow
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