Flow State

What is flow and why does it matter?

“There’s a lot of things I do where people go ‘why are you doing that?’ or ‘what’s the point in that?’… there’s no real criteria of what to do next… the harbor’s a mile long… you just kind of play.”
— Alfie (17)

You know that feeling when you’re doing something you love and time just... vanishes? That’s flow.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discovered flow while interviewing people about happiness. Often described as being “in the zone,” flow is a deep state of focused engagement—common to athletes, artists, and anyone lost in what they love (Csikszentmihaly, 1997).

Researchers today continue to explore the ins and outs of flow, but the classic version includes eight key elements:

Clear goals
Immediate feedback
Challenge-skill balance
Intense focus
Loss of self-consciousness
Sense of control
Time distortion
Autotelic experience

People who frequently enter flow often have what's called an autotelic personality (Csikszentmihaly, 1997, p.116). That means they naturally seek out challenges, stay focused, and enjoy doing things for their own sake—not for external rewards. We can classify these activities into intrinsic and extrinsic endeavors: something that's intrinsically rewarding might be done for the pursuit of enjoyment, whereas something extrinsically rewarding might be pursued for external praise or social acceptance (Abuhamdeh & Csikszentmihaly, 2009). Intrinsically motivated people live more of their life in flow. For example, those with an autotelic personality actually dedicate more time to hobbies and sports (Csikszentmihaly, 1997, p.118).

Figure 1. The Dynamics of Flow. A, C, and E are balanced states of equilibrum. B1 and D1 emphasises too much anxiety, while B2 and D2 demonstrate boredom.

Csikszentmihaly, M. (2014). Applications of Flow in Human Development and Education. Springer. p.28.

Question break: What’s something you could do for hours without checking your phone—even if no one ever gave you a grade, a trophy, or a like for it?

Have you ever felt in flow? Not sure yet? Let’s break it down.

Flow happens when challenge and skill are in perfect balance. Imagine you are playing volleyball. If you’re too anxious or too bored, flow won’t happen. If you're worried about what the audience is thinking about you, flow definitely won't happen. But if the challenge is just right—and you’re confident in your abilities—you can hit that sweet spot. Flow makes time dissapear and is genuinly described as optimal experience, meaning one of the best feelings you can have in life. Typically, the more you experience flow the happier you are in your self and your environment (Isham & Jackson, 2022).

Flow is a full-body experience. You’re deeply immersed, often doing something you like. Creative pursuits, like art and poetry, are other ways people experience flow state (Lee, 2013). More importantly, flow has often been discussed in places of solitary confinement (Logan, 1985). Logan demonstrates how people naturally align their lives with the characteristics of flow to survive challenging times.

🌱 Why Flow Matters for Adolescents

Flow doesn’t just feel good—it’s developmental. Experiencing flow can:

Boost confidence
Strengthen your sense of direction
Help you feel more authentic and true to yourself

These are all core milestones of adolescent development. Most importantly, flow helps shape your identity—your evolving sense of who you are.

A graph demonstrating the perceived enjoyment in those high or low in intrinsic motivation.

Abuhamdeh, S., & Csikszentmihaly, M. (2009). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Orientations in the Competitive Context: An Examination of Person -Situation Interactions. Journal of Personality 77:5.

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