When you’re working, ‘are you in the flow?’ This is the same idea of ‘being in the zone’ in sports. The answer to this seeming simple question can make the difference between having fun and dreading your work. Read on…
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says that work happiness and job satisfaction is all about flow. Happiness results when you are totally absorbed in what you are doing. You don’t achieve happiness directly by pursuing it. Happiness results when you forget time and are one with what you are doing. In athletics, this is called the peak experience. Players are asked: “What happened? How did you do that?” More often than not, the player says: “I was in the zone.” The athlete feels extraordinarily powerful, relaxed, and potent.
If athletes can do it, why can’t you do it as well? Csikszentmihalyi interviewed thousands of people and discovered the more time we spent in our special flow, the happier we were. Flow experience consists of three components:
- Clear and doable goals or challenges along with instant feedback on how you are doing.
- Total involvement in the activity that can take you away from your daily worries and frustrations.
- Total concentration or what gives you pleasure without making you self-conscious.
Life Lesson Earned: Check the above bullets. See how many of them apply to you. Are you in the flow or in the zone when you work or in your job?