Go With The Flow

Have you ever noticed how time seems to fly when you engage in certain activities--beyond simply "having fun": we all know about that. These activities might include playing a game of catch or frizbee, knitting or doing some sort of handcraft, painting, or just having a conversation with someone. Believe it or not, there is a commonly accepted word for this type of activity: flow activities. A flow activity is (big surprise) defined as "an activity which results in the psychological state of flow (the link is to Wikipedia--scoff at me and I'll call you a snot). To boil it down, flow is a state of mind involving deep concentration and focus, which results in a sense of ecstasy or elation. A psychologist named Csíkszentmihályi (I dare you to try to pronounce that without making a fool of yourself--mainly because I can't) defined a flow activity as being outlined by ten distinctive criteria:

1. The challenge level and the skill level must both be high (and the challenge--or goal--must have a set of clearly defined guidelines or rules; the procedure must be laid out beforehand)
2. A high level of concentration on a specific field (allowing the mind to become immersed)
3. Fusing of action and awareness, or loss of self-awareness or self-consciousness
4.  Changed or distorted sense of time (hence, "time flies")
5. Direct feedback (allowing for a change of behavior resulting from a visualized failure)
6. Balance between the challenge of the activity and the ability of the subject
7. A sense of personal control over the activity
8. The activity is essentially rewarding, leading to an ease and fluidity of performance
9. Lack of awareness of bodily needs on the part of the subject
10. Absorption into the activity, so that all outside awareness fades

Even though not all of these criteria are required for a flow experience, they often end up going together. The euphoria is certainly there, too. When was the last time you were listening to music or reading a good book or playing catch and you realized that it was after three in the morning and you hadn't eaten since the previous morning or slept since you don't know when? It's almost like waking up from a dream, and when you try briefly to attain that sense of timelessness, it's impossible, so you turn out the light. Still, you're always sure that there will be another night where the time disappears again: you'll go with the flow.