Flow occurs when both challenges and skills are high and equal to each other.If it appears to be beyond our capacity we tend to respond to it by feeling anxious if the task is too easy we get bored. It is easier to become completely involved in a task if we believe it is doable.Feedback may come from colleagues or supervisors who comment on performance, but preferably it is the activity itself that will provide this information. The sense of total involvement of the flow experience derives in large part from knowing that what one does matters, that it has consequences. It is difficult for people to stay absorbed in any activity unless they get timely, “online” information about how well they are doing.Our primary concern here is not with what constitutes a successful performance, but with the quality of experience during performance.To be overly concerned with the ultimate goal often interferes with performance.

People often miss the opportunity to enjoy what they do because they focus all their attention on the outcome, rather than savoring the steps along the way.For a person to become deeply involved in any activity it is essential that he know precisely what tasks he must accomplish, moment by moment.Let’s see the essential characteristics of flow experience listed below in key thoughts from Csikszentmihalyi himself. Professor Csikszentmihalyi defines 8 basic conditions of flow in his book Good Business (2003).

The flow experience csikszentmihalyi