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About | New| Feedback | Help | Home | Sitemaps
Reference Corner: helpful guide to help you learn more about language and words
DIRECTORY OF THE LOGOPHILE LIBRARY
words are categorized by chapters in individual lists or features. Features are by topic & present extensive vocabulary, research, articles & narratives.
WORD LIST CATEGORIES
Home Page ~ Word List Index ~ Featured Words
Literary, Language, Writing and Words
Obscure, Rare, Unusual and Obsolete
Creative, Deep, Intellectual and Profound
Dark, Melancholic, Mystical and Risqué
The Universe and World We Live In
The Exotic Languages of the World
MORE WORDS TO DISCOVER
This Site is Part of a Series of Beautiful Words
Books - Blogs - Guides - Manuals
DOWNLOAD VOCABULARY BOOKS
or view and download all my books
Search site below or use Advanced Search to search the site & content in my vocabulary books.
TOUCH OF THE INTELLECT
Knowledge ~ Profound ~ Speech ~ Writing Creativity ~ Technology ~ Academics
Divergent thought is powered by your imagination, driven by your passionate curiosity, executed by your talent and implemented by your convergent thought (rational & analytical brain). This section contains terms related to creativity (creation of something new and unique) & innovation (designs that are implemented in artwork, product manufacture or other actionable delivery).
HOME OF THE COLORS OF CREATIVITY
Defining & Finding Creative Flow (Article)
Riding the Brain Waves of Flow
Study of the Art and Science of Creativity
Communicating Your Creative Arts
Cup of Colorful Creativity
Embers of Thought in the Fire of Creativity
Cornucopia of Colorful Creativity
Midnight Madness and Meraki
Shaping the World Like a Mold of Clay
May I Have This Dance?
It’s Music to my Ears
There is More to Color Than RGB
Visit my Creativity Site - CREATIVITY CHAOS
Download my Creativity Vocabulary Guide
Defining New Ideas - Dictionary of Creativity, Innovation and Design
DEFINING CREATIVE FLOW
See Also: Riding the Brain Waves of Flow
In positive psychology a flow state is known as creative flow or, as in popular culture terms, it’s being “in the zone.” It is the mental state of prime action in which a person performing a creative activity is fully immersed in a act with passionate and energized focus, full involvement, and personal enjoyment of the experience.
When in flow, the artist or creator and the universe become one, external distractions recede from consciousness and one's mind is fully open and attuned to the act of creating.
MINDFUL CREATION
Think of the flow state like a mindfulness meditation state. Mindfulness is the act of awareness of the being present - right now - and being fully immersed in the sensory inputs surrounding you. You are aware and focused. In mindfulness you experience the moment without judgement. You feel what you feel and think what you think. Creative flow is being focused on your creation in the present moment with no concern for the past or future. Being fully immersed in your work is a mindful activity.
“You must subordinate the outcome to the immediacy of the moment, But, as the moment takes over, it needs to be sustained by feedback — you have to have a sense of how you’re doing to continue to meet the challenge. Was the shot good? The color on the canvas right? Friendly competition can help give you something to measure yourself against.” Keith Sawyer
FACTORS INFLUENCING FLOW
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, famed psychologist, most noted for his work in the study of happiness and creativity and research on positive psychology, was the first to name and identify flow and describe its nine characteristics:
- There are clear goals every step of the way: Stated clear and detailed goals.
- There is immediate feedback to your actions: Clear about how well you are doing, adjusting each task for optimum performance.
- There is a balance between challenges and skills: Optimum balance between our abilities and the task in hand is reached, keeping us alert, focused and effective.
- Action and awareness are merged: Completely focused on what and where we are in the moment.
- Distractions are excluded from consciousness: Free to be absorbed in the task at hand.
- There is no worry of failure: Not simultaneously judging our performance or worrying about things going wrong.
- Self-consciousness disappears: Unconcerned with self-image or how we are being perceived.
- Sense of time becomes distorted: Hours pass us by and moments can see like forever.
- The activity becomes ‘autotelic’ — meaning it is an end in itself: The activity becomes enjoyable for its own sake.
When you are in the flow you are doing your best quality work. Everything is clear to you, there is balance and order, your actions and awareness are aligned, there are no distractions, time is not important to you, and you do not have fear of failure. You are thinking and behaving in the present moment.
It is characterized by complete absorption in what you are doing and a resulting loss in your sense of space and time. The flow state has been described as the "optimal experience" in which you gets high gratification from the experience. Achieving this experience is considered to be personal and depends on the ability of the individual. It is usually driven by intrinsic motivation or being rewarded by personal satisfaction.
ACTIVITY IN YOUR BRAIN
There is a lot going on in your brain when you trigger and work in flow. Large quantities of the chemicals norepinephrine and dopamine amp up focus and boost imaginative possibilities. These chemicals help your divergent thought and you can link ideas together in clever new ways. These chemicals flood your reward system and your motivation gets higher and you are driven to keep moving forward. Endorphins and serotonin are pleasure-inducing and performance-enhancing chemicals so you feel confident, capable and perfectly in the zone. It is sparked by transient hypofrontality or when your prefrontal cortex is temporarily deactivated. This is why your sense of self seems to disappear. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex also goes temporarily quiet. This area is the part of your brain where self-monitoring and impulse control call home. It silences your “saboteur,” your inner critic and your self doubt.
HYPERFOCUS IS NOT THE SAME THING
The flow state shares many characteristics with hyperfocus. However, hyperfocus is not always described positively. Some examples include spending too much time playing video games or watching television. There is a risk of getting side-tracked and absorbed by one aspect of a task to the detriment of the work. Hyperfocus can “capture” a person, causing them to appear unfocused or to start several projects but not completing them.
DRIVEN BY INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
The capacity and desire to overcome challenges in order to achieve goals not only leads to the optimal experience, but also to a sense of life satisfaction overall.
A flow state can be entered while performing any activity, although it is most likely to occur when one is wholeheartedly performing a task or activity for intrinsic purposes (motivation for personal gratification).
CHALLENGES TO THE FLOW STATE
The likelihood of you entering a flow state depends on the level of challenge and skill the activity requires, compared to your current capabilities. Triggering flow is about the balance between the level of your skill and the size of the challenge .
PERSONALITY FOR FLOW
Specific personality traits may be better able to achieve flow more often. These include awareness, curiosity, persistence, drive, passion and low levels of self-centeredness. People with most of these personality traits have an autotelic personality. The term “autotelic” derives from two Greek words, auto, meaning ‘self’, and telos meaning ‘goal’. Being autotelic means having a self-contained activity, one that is done not with the expectation of some future benefit, but simply to experience it as the main goal.
People who have experienced flow, describe the following feelings:
There is a lot going on in your brain when you trigger and work in flow. Large quantities of the chemicals norepinephrine and dopamine amp up focus and boost imaginative possibilities. These chemicals help your divergent thought and you can link ideas together in clever new ways. These chemicals flood your reward system and your motivation gets higher and you are driven to keep moving forward. Endorphins and serotonin are pleasure-inducing and performance-enhancing chemicals so you feel confident, capable and perfectly in the zone. It is sparked by transient hypofrontality or when your prefrontal cortex is temporarily deactivated. This is why your sense of self seems to disappear. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex also goes temporarily quiet. This area is the part of your brain where self-monitoring and impulse control call home. It silences your “saboteur,” your inner critic and your self doubt.
HYPERFOCUS IS NOT THE SAME THING
The flow state shares many characteristics with hyperfocus. However, hyperfocus is not always described positively. Some examples include spending too much time playing video games or watching television. There is a risk of getting side-tracked and absorbed by one aspect of a task to the detriment of the work. Hyperfocus can “capture” a person, causing them to appear unfocused or to start several projects but not completing them.
DRIVEN BY INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
The capacity and desire to overcome challenges in order to achieve goals not only leads to the optimal experience, but also to a sense of life satisfaction overall.
A flow state can be entered while performing any activity, although it is most likely to occur when one is wholeheartedly performing a task or activity for intrinsic purposes (motivation for personal gratification).
- Passive activities like browsing the Internet, watching a YouTube video or listening to a Ted Talk do not elicit flow experiences. You need to actively do something to enter a flow state.
CHALLENGES TO THE FLOW STATE
The likelihood of you entering a flow state depends on the level of challenge and skill the activity requires, compared to your current capabilities. Triggering flow is about the balance between the level of your skill and the size of the challenge .
- Apathy is when challenges and skill level are low producing a general lack of interest in the task.
- Boredom is when challenges are low but skill level exceeds those challenges causing you to seek greater challenges.
- Anxiety occurs when challenges are so high that they exceed your perceived skill level causing anxiety, stress and uneasiness.
PERSONALITY FOR FLOW
Specific personality traits may be better able to achieve flow more often. These include awareness, curiosity, persistence, drive, passion and low levels of self-centeredness. People with most of these personality traits have an autotelic personality. The term “autotelic” derives from two Greek words, auto, meaning ‘self’, and telos meaning ‘goal’. Being autotelic means having a self-contained activity, one that is done not with the expectation of some future benefit, but simply to experience it as the main goal.
People who have experienced flow, describe the following feelings:
- Completely involved in what we are doing - focused, concentrated.
- A sense of ecstasy - of being outside everyday reality.
- Great inner clarity - knowing what needs to be done, and how well we are doing.
- Knowing that the activity is doable - that our skills are adequate to the task.
- A sense of serenity - no worries about oneself, and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.
- Timelessness - thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by the minute.
- Intrinsic motivation - whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.
READ MORE ABOUT FLOW IN MY GUIDE
ASSOCIATED BOOK DOWNLOAD
Defining New Ideas is vocabulary book centered in divergent thought. That is your right brain, the creative one who dreams and creates, innovates, designs and produces your ideas. Divergent thought is powered by your imagination, driven by your passionate curiosity, and executed by your talent from the right side of the brain. And then plans are implemented by convergent thought - the left (rational and analytical) side.
The website contains the terms of the dictionary for a quick reference, but download the complete book for 171 pages of creativity driven content that tells the story of divergent, creative, innovative and design thinking and how it all comes together to form your creative flow!
VIEW PREVIEW | VIEW ONLINE | DOWNLOAD
Search the Dictionary Here! Enter a Term Below
The website contains the terms of the dictionary for a quick reference, but download the complete book for 171 pages of creativity driven content that tells the story of divergent, creative, innovative and design thinking and how it all comes together to form your creative flow!
VIEW PREVIEW | VIEW ONLINE | DOWNLOAD
Search the Dictionary Here! Enter a Term Below
FURTHER READING
COMPANION VOCABULARY BOOKS:
View all Vocabulary Books and Blogs
Defining the Brain : vocabulary of your brain
Logophile Lexicon : words about words
THE BEAUTY OF LANGUAGE AND WORDS
Reference Corner of Linguistic Resources
The Loquacious Literary Logophile
All the Words About Words
The Writer’s Craft - Writing Resources
A Grammar Primer for Review
View all Vocabulary Books and Blogs
Defining the Brain : vocabulary of your brain
Logophile Lexicon : words about words
THE BEAUTY OF LANGUAGE AND WORDS
Reference Corner of Linguistic Resources
The Loquacious Literary Logophile
All the Words About Words
The Writer’s Craft - Writing Resources
A Grammar Primer for Review
