What is Flow

To be in the bubble

The first who worked with Flow – a state of grace, a magical moment – is the American researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in the early 1970s at Claremont Graduate University.

The studies on the onset of flow in the contexts and activities of everyday life lead him to develop the “theory of the flow of consciousness”, defining it as an “optimal experience” or “the state in which people are so immersed in what they are doing, that everything else does not seem to matter ”.

Starting from the 2000s, the topic became of strong scientific interest in its applicative implications.

In constant dialogue with the philosophical tradition and with the psychological models linked to the affirmation and expression of the self, studies on the flow aim to analyze the factors capable of transforming a momentary experience into an optimal psychological state.

In particular, Martin Seligman, deepens the studies on flow, considered as one of the main elements for a fulfilling life (engaged life) and rich in meaning (meanigful life).

The Flow experience is characterized by a high level of concentration and participation in the activity, by the balance between the perception of the difficulty of the situation and the task (challenge) and personal skills (skills), by the sensation of temporal alteration, (the internal clock slows down, while the external clock speeds up), gives an intrinsic interest in the process that produces a sense of pleasure and satisfaction.