The self-development world has turned one of humanistic psychology’s most beautiful findings into a productivity tool. Here’s what it cost us — and how to recover the older, larger meaning.
I love everything about this. I feel healthiest and most fulfilled when I get into flow often, not because I am getting more done but because when I am in flow, I am doing the things I'm the most passionate about. I am out of my own head. All feels right with the world. Just the best.
Your point about effortless attention having different neural mechanisms from effortful attention is something I keep thinking about. It suggests we misunderstand not just flow but an entire category of cognition.
I wrote about something adjacent — how awe works on attention in a similar way. It slows us down, dissolves the self-monitoring, makes time behave differently. Not to optimise anything. Just to let the world back in. Csikszentmihalyi's 'fusion of the person and the world' and what happens when we stand in front of something vast enough to shut down the inner scorekeeper may be the same experience, arrived at from different doors. If you're curious: https://rajeshachanta.substack.com/p/a-million-stars
Love this. I appreciate the callout of "experience" vs "outcome". I think there's another layer to the name worth investigating. The word "optimal" is very self-development leaning where so much is about optimization. I wonder if it was named, Flow: The Psychology of Immersed/Absorbed Experience if it would have been more popularly associated with the purely intrinsic activities of gardening, sunset soaking, and dancing in the kitchen.
Interestingly, having optimal experiences in life that increase your overall emotional wellbeing is also going to directly contribute to having an optimal performance with everything else that you do.
I think the reason people are so attracted to the idea of optimal performance is because there is a direct outcome and ROI that you can measure. It's hard to measure what an optimal experience is. I think the trick to get this philosophy to the masses is to wrap elements of what makes an optimal experience/life into the direct outcomes someone wants to achieve / optimize for. Ty for this one Scott!
Thank you for this correction, Scott. The incessant preoccupation in this country with productivity is antithetical to human wellbeing, If productivity is a byproduct of flow, that is fine. But when the main goal of pursuing flow becomes productivity, this undercuts the psychological benefits of the flow experience.
"Genuinely lost in conversation" — that's the phrase that carries the whole article. Lost. The border between you and the experience temporarily stops existing.
The honeymoon works the same way. Top athletes know its opposite: the moment you think about the next move, you're already back on your side of the border. Performance collapses not from lack of effort but from the return of separation.
Flow isn't a state you enter. It's what happens when you stop being two things.
The question worth sitting with: is this something that only happens randomly, when conditions align, or is the capacity to dissolve that border something that can actually be developed?
I love your perspective, Scott. This is exactly what my book The Flow Habit is all about—we’re all flow experts! Flow is about turning down the volume of our self-consciousness, our inner critic, which happens when we experience emotional safety. That’s when we can lower our guard enough to engage fully in the present and move from hyper-vigilance to self-actualization and transcendence. Big fan of your book.
This article is such a wonderful reminder of why I chose the more difficult path of building my work and life around a creative career rather than the safer and more stable paths. Admittedly, I too fell into this trap of confusing flow for productivity, so much so that I not only taught people the systems to get into flow states, but I even branded my entire company "Optimize Yourself" to direct that flow state towards outputs. Needless to say, I've come around over the last few years and now crave the flow state simply as an experience, as you and Maslow have stated.
Thank you as always for your wonderful insights, Scott. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to chat with you on my podcast about all things being a "creative." ♥️
“ The state you’re chasing is the state of not chasing.” This makes me think of Escher’s “Drawing Hands”. You are the creator and the creation. Living in the paradox of an activity shaping our abilities while the abilities allow you to engage more deeply in the experience. As you say for a taste of being fully present and alive.
So good to re-enter this unpacking of a state of being. My longitudinal study of an artist finds him using the word “empathy” to describe his fusing with nature in plein air studies. I love this understanding too.
Excellent course correction! I get my fair share of "hacking flow" for productivity emails and promises nearly daily. Some promote seminars and/or courses and charge roughly $5,000 - $7,000 for their flagship 8-week course. For their higher-tier coaching programs prices can increase to $10,000 or more.
Correlation does not equal causation. It may well be the case that productivity causes a feeling of "flow," not vice versa. This would be consistent with Csikzntmihayi's concept of "flow channel," i.e. flow like experiences taking place when task complexity matches skill set. Regardless, those of us who've read his work understand his most important guidance - to achieve more time in flow, you must be able to structure your mental processes. Maybe some of those hacks will help, or you could just go to the gym or track
I love everything about this. I feel healthiest and most fulfilled when I get into flow often, not because I am getting more done but because when I am in flow, I am doing the things I'm the most passionate about. I am out of my own head. All feels right with the world. Just the best.
Your point about effortless attention having different neural mechanisms from effortful attention is something I keep thinking about. It suggests we misunderstand not just flow but an entire category of cognition.
I wrote about something adjacent — how awe works on attention in a similar way. It slows us down, dissolves the self-monitoring, makes time behave differently. Not to optimise anything. Just to let the world back in. Csikszentmihalyi's 'fusion of the person and the world' and what happens when we stand in front of something vast enough to shut down the inner scorekeeper may be the same experience, arrived at from different doors. If you're curious: https://rajeshachanta.substack.com/p/a-million-stars
Nice!
Love this. I appreciate the callout of "experience" vs "outcome". I think there's another layer to the name worth investigating. The word "optimal" is very self-development leaning where so much is about optimization. I wonder if it was named, Flow: The Psychology of Immersed/Absorbed Experience if it would have been more popularly associated with the purely intrinsic activities of gardening, sunset soaking, and dancing in the kitchen.
Beautiful, I love this reframe!
Interestingly, having optimal experiences in life that increase your overall emotional wellbeing is also going to directly contribute to having an optimal performance with everything else that you do.
I think the reason people are so attracted to the idea of optimal performance is because there is a direct outcome and ROI that you can measure. It's hard to measure what an optimal experience is. I think the trick to get this philosophy to the masses is to wrap elements of what makes an optimal experience/life into the direct outcomes someone wants to achieve / optimize for. Ty for this one Scott!
Thank you for this correction, Scott. The incessant preoccupation in this country with productivity is antithetical to human wellbeing, If productivity is a byproduct of flow, that is fine. But when the main goal of pursuing flow becomes productivity, this undercuts the psychological benefits of the flow experience.
"Genuinely lost in conversation" — that's the phrase that carries the whole article. Lost. The border between you and the experience temporarily stops existing.
The honeymoon works the same way. Top athletes know its opposite: the moment you think about the next move, you're already back on your side of the border. Performance collapses not from lack of effort but from the return of separation.
Flow isn't a state you enter. It's what happens when you stop being two things.
The question worth sitting with: is this something that only happens randomly, when conditions align, or is the capacity to dissolve that border something that can actually be developed?
I love your perspective, Scott. This is exactly what my book The Flow Habit is all about—we’re all flow experts! Flow is about turning down the volume of our self-consciousness, our inner critic, which happens when we experience emotional safety. That’s when we can lower our guard enough to engage fully in the present and move from hyper-vigilance to self-actualization and transcendence. Big fan of your book.
This article is such a wonderful reminder of why I chose the more difficult path of building my work and life around a creative career rather than the safer and more stable paths. Admittedly, I too fell into this trap of confusing flow for productivity, so much so that I not only taught people the systems to get into flow states, but I even branded my entire company "Optimize Yourself" to direct that flow state towards outputs. Needless to say, I've come around over the last few years and now crave the flow state simply as an experience, as you and Maslow have stated.
Thank you as always for your wonderful insights, Scott. I'm honored to have had the opportunity to chat with you on my podcast about all things being a "creative." ♥️
Yes!
I experience flow when doing yoga, tai chi and walking in nature with my dog Josie. Truly amazing experiences but yet so simple.
As usual, I love your insights! Thank you for all your posts and books!!!
“ The state you’re chasing is the state of not chasing.” This makes me think of Escher’s “Drawing Hands”. You are the creator and the creation. Living in the paradox of an activity shaping our abilities while the abilities allow you to engage more deeply in the experience. As you say for a taste of being fully present and alive.
This is wonderful, thank you. I've experienced it as a musician and it's described here perfectly.
So good to re-enter this unpacking of a state of being. My longitudinal study of an artist finds him using the word “empathy” to describe his fusing with nature in plein air studies. I love this understanding too.
Excellent course correction! I get my fair share of "hacking flow" for productivity emails and promises nearly daily. Some promote seminars and/or courses and charge roughly $5,000 - $7,000 for their flagship 8-week course. For their higher-tier coaching programs prices can increase to $10,000 or more.
Correlation does not equal causation. It may well be the case that productivity causes a feeling of "flow," not vice versa. This would be consistent with Csikzntmihayi's concept of "flow channel," i.e. flow like experiences taking place when task complexity matches skill set. Regardless, those of us who've read his work understand his most important guidance - to achieve more time in flow, you must be able to structure your mental processes. Maybe some of those hacks will help, or you could just go to the gym or track