Achieving Flow
Imagine a state of being at one with what you are doing - where what you are doing feels like an extension of who you are, almost as if it was created just for you to do. Imagine understanding it so personally and intimately that you feel you are the author of its instructions. And, when you are finished and it’s all over and everything is complete, it feels like a masterpiece – a work of art that brings you deep meaning and satisfaction – so much so that you can’t wait to do it again. Now imagine this is a job that brings you this level of euphoria! That is what flow feels like – where who you are and what you do intersect – where work feels like a core part of why you were created – your purpose, your passion. We have all seen it before - an athlete who performs at a level of excellence, a colleague at work who is known as the “guru” or subject matter expert, or an artist who describes each creation as something that simply poured out of him. You may have experienced a blip of this euphoria while enjoying a hobby, cooking your favorite meal, or working on a task that just felt effortless. We know it exists because we have seen it and felt it before – it’s achievable. The question is how often do you feel flow at work? The state of being so engaged and emersed in what you are doing that time just ceases to exist.
Flow is named after the psychologist, Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi who was fascinated by how artists would become lost in their work. Some of the people Mihaly interviewed described themselves as “feeling like they were floating.” A more formal definition of flow from Wikipedia is “being in the zone or locked in - the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does and a resulting transformation in one's sense of time.” I would describe it as the ultimate intersection of talent, task, motivation, and challenge. At work, this can feel like the job and environment that provides just the right amount of stretch, curiosity, connection to purpose, and opportunity to use your natural talents. When this happens, an employee feels a sense of empowerment – they know what to do, how to do it, and enjoy doing it. The employer also reaps many benefits when flow is achieved – there is greater employee engagement and retention, higher productivity and performance, and a stronger organizational culture. People want to come to work, do their best, and be their best at work.
The question is, if flow is so important for employee and organizational success, why is it so hard to achieve? Well, the first reason is while it is optimal for achieving happiness and success personally and professionally, it is specific and unique to each person – and something we have to figure out for ourselves – to thine own self be true. Self-discovery and awareness is a journey that takes time – and flow can be one of the benefits and outcomes of this process. Once we know who we are, we can exercise our power of choice. We can choose jobs, organizations, and work environments that align with our individuality and provide the freedom to use our unique talents, skills, and abilities. We can choose work that feels like a natural extension of who we are versus a forced form of what others want us to be.
Achieving happiness and fulfillment in life is about choice – choosing work and activities that provide meaning and connect you to something bigger than yourself – your purpose and reason for why you are here. When you find the connection to your why and what you are doing, you will be well on your way to achieving flow.