By Angelica Ribeiro

Have you ever lost track of time at work or in leisure? If so, you were in flow, a feeling you should often experience. Let me explain.

In his book Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi shares that “the best moments in [your life] are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times—although such experiences can also be enjoyable […]. The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” You can experience these best moments when you are in flow. According to Csikszentmihalyi, flow is “the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.”

You reach flow when you are doing an activity in which the level of challenge matches the level of skill. As a result, you really enjoy what you are doing. To better understand flow, imagine two lines: the y-axis represents the challenge level, and the x-axis represents the skill level. If your challenge is high and your skill is low, you will experience anxiety because the activity is too difficult for you to perform. If your challenge is low and your skill is high, you will feel bored because the activity isn’t engaging. In other words, the task is very easy for you, and you don’t need to devote much attention to it. To experience flow, your challenge level and your skill level are high.

It’s important to mention that not everybody experiences the same flow activities because people have different skills and perceive challenges differently. For example, writing this blog or an academic paper produces flow for me but not for my brother Ricardo. That’s because my skills match the challenge level of writing. On the other hand, playing the piano doesn’t produce flow for me, but it does for him. To me, the challenge level involved in that activity is a lot higher than my skill level. Therefore, while writing brings me more enjoyable moments in my life, playing the piano brings my brother more enjoyable moments in his life.

As Csikszentmihalyi points out in Flow, when your challenges and skills are both high, you are more creative, cheerful, and active. Also, you concentrate more and feel happier, stronger, and more satisfied. Bottom line: You can experience your best moments at work or in leisure by engaging in flow activities.

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Angelica Ribeiro is a writer, researcher, and professor. She is the author of How to Create Happiness at Work, Running into Happiness, and My Happiness Habit Journal. She holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a focus on English as a second language from Texas A&M University. She has taught English learners and preservice teachers in the United States and Brazil for over 25 years. Angelica has several publications on second language acquisition. She works as a professor in higher education and helps others benefit from her happiness research. When she was a Ph.D. student, Angelica struggled with balancing her academic commitments and personal life, which motivated her to embark on a journey to increase happiness. Her journey was so successful that now she encourages others to create happiness in their busy lives by sharing science-based strategies. Visit https://www.creatinghappiness.today