Mihály Csíkszentmihályi(Mihály Csíkszentmihályi): The Father of Flow

~Mihály Csíkszentmihályi(Mihály Csíkszentmihályi), the Father of 'Flow', "A man obsessed by happiness." — Richard Flaste, New York Times

What Makes a Life Worth Living?

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi asks, "What makes a life worth living?" Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow."

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi contributed pioneering work to our understanding of happiness, creativity, human fulfillment, and the notion of "flow" — a state of heightened focus and immersion in activities such as art, play, and work.

Dr. Csikszentmihalyi often cited his own adolescence during and after World War II as a formative experience that prepared him for a life studying the power of concentration.

Early Life and Background

Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi was born on Sept. 29, 1934, in Fiume, Italy, a port city that is now part of Croatia and known as Rijeka. His father, Alfred Csikszentmihalyi, was a Hungarian diplomat stationed in Fiume, and his mother, Edith Jankovich de Jeszenicze, was a homemaker who later worked for the United Nations. Along with his son, he is survived by his wife, Isabella (Selega) Csikszentmihalyi; another son, Mark; and six grandchildren.

During the first few years of World War II, Mihaly’s father helped Hungarian Jews escape the country by providing them with exit visas. After the war, Mihaly and his parents were interned by the Allies, along with hundreds of other political prisoners. To stave off boredom, he played chess, happily finding that while engaged in it, the rest of the world seemed to fall away and time seemed to fly by.

His father eventually returned to diplomatic service, but in 1947, as Communists were taking over the Hungarian government, the family fled to Italy, where they opened a restaurant in Rome, near the Trevi Fountain.

Encounter with Carl Jung

Mihaly was on vacation in Switzerland when he attended a lecture by the psychologist Carl Jung. Entranced, he decided to study psychology, but it was rarely taught as its own subject in European universities. With the equivalent of $50 in his pocket, he moved to Chicago, where he worked in a hotel while getting his G.E.D. He briefly attended the University of Illinois Chicago, then transferred to the University of Chicago, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1960 and his doctorate in psychology in 1965.

Dr. Csikszentmihalyi taught at Lake Forest College, outside Chicago, until 1971, when he returned to the University of Chicago. He retired in 1999, after which he moved to California and joined the faculty at Claremont Graduate University.

Developing the Concept of Flow

He first became interested in what he later called flow while working on his dissertation, a study of creativity among painters. When he asked, in a questionnaire, what they were thinking about while painting, he noticed that they rarely spoke about their goal of creating art. Instead, they talked about the process — the challenges of the canvas, the consistency of the paint. Intrigued, he later surveyed other groups and found similar responses.

"I was astonished to find that all those different people — rock climbers, basketball and hockey players, dancers, composers, chess masters — used very similar terms to describe their activities and the reasons they got so much out of them," he told The Chicago Tribune in 1986.

He came up with the term "flow" in the early 1970s to describe that state of mind, around the same time he developed a new technique to study it. Rather than having people fill out questionnaires about something they did hours before, he had them wear beepers. Eight or more times a day, he would message them, asking them to describe their state of mind.

"It was an important move away from paper and pencil questionnaires and toward the real world," Dr. Seligman said in an interview.

Dr. Csikszentmihalyi wrote a series of follow-up books to "Flow," including one focused on the business world. And while he never claimed to know the secret to happiness, he never passed up a chance to offer advice for those looking for it.

"We can’t afford to become trapped within ourselves, our jobs, and religions, and lose sight of the entire tapestry of life," he said in a 1995 interview with Omni magazine. "When the self loses itself in a transcendent purpose — whether to write great poetry, craft beautiful furniture, understand the motions of galaxies, or help children be happier — the self becomes largely invulnerable to the fears and setbacks of ordinary existence."

Dr. Csikszentmihalyi presenting a TEDx Talk in 2011. His original 2004 TED Talk has been viewed nearly seven million times.
Bea Kallos/EPA, via Shutterstock

My Journey into Psychology

I grew up in Europe, and World War II caught me when I was between seven and ten years old. I realized how few of the grown-ups that I knew were able to withstand the tragedies that the war visited on them -- how few of them could even resemble a normal, contented, satisfied, happy life once their job, their home, their security was destroyed by the war. So I became interested in understanding what contributed to a life that was worth living. As a child and teenager, I tried to read philosophy and get involved in art and religion, exploring many possible answers to that question. Finally, I encountered psychology by chance.

A Fortuitous Encounter with Carl Jung

I was at a ski resort in Switzerland without any money to enjoy myself because the snow had melted, and I couldn't afford to go to a movie. However, I read in the newspapers about a presentation by someone in the center of Zurich about flying saucers. Since I couldn't go to the movies, I decided to attend the free lecture. The speaker, instead of talking about little green men, discussed how the psyche of Europeans had been traumatized by the war, projecting flying saucers into the sky as a way to regain some sense of order. This was Carl Jung, whose name or work I had no idea about, but his talk intrigued me, and I started reading his books after that lecture.

Studying Psychology and the Roots of Happiness

I came to this country to study psychology and began trying to understand the roots of happiness. One common finding, presented in various studies, showed that about 30 percent of people surveyed in the United States since 1956 claimed their life was very happy, a figure that remained constant despite significant increases in personal income. This indicated that beyond a basic level of financial security, increases in material well-being did not correlate with increased happiness.

Flow
Flow
The breakout success of Dr. Csikszentmihalyi’s 1990 book made him a public figure.

The Flow Experience： flow state book & Mihály Csíkszentmihályi books

My research then focused on understanding where in everyday life we feel genuinely happy. About 40 years ago, I began studying creative people — artists, scientists, and others — to understand what made their lives meaningful. One of the leading American composers back in the '70s described composing music as an ecstatic state, an experience so intense it felt almost as if he didn't exist. This spontaneous process can only happen to someone well-trained, with at least ten years of technical knowledge in their field.

Interviews and Findings on Flow

Over the years, I've interviewed many individuals, including Olympic athletes, leading writers, and socially responsible CEOs, who described this effortless, spontaneous feeling of ecstasy when deeply engaged in their work. This experience, which I called the "flow experience," happens in various realms, from poetry to sports to business.

Conditions for Flow

Our studies, including over 8,000 interviews from diverse individuals around the world, identified seven conditions present when a person is in flow:

Intense focus leading to a sense of ecstasy.
Clarity of goals and immediate feedback.
A balance between challenges and skills.
A sense of effortlessness and timelessness.
A feeling of being part of something larger.
Intrinsic motivation for the activity.

The 8 Characteristics of Flow

Csikszentmihalyi describes eight characteristics of flow:

Complete concentration on the task;
Clarity of goals and reward in mind and immediate feedback;
Transformation of time (speeding up/slowing down);
The experience is intrinsically rewarding;
Effortlessness and ease;
There is a balance between challenge and skills;
Actions and awareness are merged, losing self-conscious rumination;
There is a feeling of control over the task.

Everyday Life and Flow

In our studies, we measure the amount of challenge and skill people experience in their everyday activities using electronic pagers that prompt them to record their current state. We found that people experience flow when both challenges and skills are above their average levels. Flow occurs in activities people truly enjoy, whether it's playing the piano, being with a best friend, or working.

The Flow Model

The flow model identifies different states based on challenge and skill levels:

Arousal**: High challenge, low skill; a state where learning and growth occur.

Control: High skill, low challenge; a comfortable but not highly engaging state.
Relaxation: Low challenge, high skill; a pleasant state but not as fulfilling as flow.
Boredom and Apathy: Low challenge and skill; unengaging and negative states.

Increasing Flow in Everyday Life

Our goal is to help people spend more of their everyday life in the flow channel. This is a challenge we're striving to understand and address. Some people know how to achieve this spontaneously, but many do not, and it is our mandate to help them.

Identify When You’re Naturally in Your Flow State

Many people have experienced flow state without knowing that’s what it was. One of the key indicators of being in flow state is losing a sense of time. Ask yourself: When have hours passed by without your realizing it? Perhaps you were so engrossed with painting that you didn’t hear your phone, or you were working on a PowerPoint presentation so intently that you didn’t notice the sunset.

Another indicator of flow state is having a sense of ease, when things feel like they just click into place. It might even come in the moments when you have new ideas and insights, and "you put things together in ways you’d never put them together before," says Allen.

Flow state often features a positive feedback loop. The more engaged you are with a task, the more positive feedback you receive, which encourages you to keep going.

Learn How to Get into It by Working Backwards

Once you know when you’ve experienced that effortless feeling, you can determine how you got there. Allen recommends recreating the memories of when you were in flow state and examining them.

First, you must observe yourself. For the next two weeks, Allen suggests, observe yourself, notice what you’re doing, and look for the key indicators of flow: losing your sense of time or self, feeling that you’re acting with ease, gaining new insights, and having a positive feedback loop.

Then, when you are in a state of flow, broaden your awareness: Notice and remember the activities surrounding you. Distinguish what you’re physically doing when you lose all sense of time or have a sense of ease. Perhaps you’re on stage, writing or gardening. In addition, think about what you’re doing mentally. Are you engaged in acts of service? Sharing? Creating a sense of unity or community? Are you problem solving? Immersed in deep focus or deep listening?

Allen worked with one client who found his flow state whenever he was racing bicycles. Physically, he was outside and exercising. But his internal emotions went deeper: he wanted to support his teammates and create synergy among them. His flow state involved not only cycling, but being engaged in a group dynamic.

Another example: Allen worked with the chief operating officer of a healthcare institution — she was very quiet and had received feedback that she lacked leadership qualities. Working together, they determined that she got into the flow state when she had quality one-on-one time with other people and was able to speak and listen deeply.

Guided by this realization, she said at her next group meeting at work: "I need to listen to each and every one of you." By doing so, she was able to get into her flow state and she was able to take in everyone’s feedback. By tapping into her flow state, she was able to effectively communicate her own style of leadership.

Understanding the Benefits of Flow Can Reinforce the Habit

The more you experience the rewards of the flow state, the more you’ll want to return. "People slip into flow on a daily basis, and they shut it down," says Allen. "They might say, ‘It’s unrealistic, it’s not practical, or I don’t have time for that.'" But if flow leads you to your best self, you’re more likely to experience fulfillment, solve problems, overcome fear, and influence others.

Start Trying to Shift into Your Flow State on Purpose

It’s not necessary to wait for lightning — or your flow state — to strike. Instead, easing into flow can become a repeatable routine, much like brushing your teeth, taking out the trash, or hitting play on that next episode on Netflix. "The more practice you have, the more you can snap into a flow state," says Allen. To get there, she advises people to keep noticing the physical and emotional steps that lead up to flow — Where are you? What are you doing? How are you feeling? — and repeat them.

Everyone gets into their flow state in a different way. You might be really good at problem solving with data on Excel sheets, and you’re best when you’re left alone to find solutions. Or, you might be at your best when you’re giving and receiving feedback and you’re a champ at leading a group of salespeople.

When you make your flow state more accessible and repeatable, you’re setting the stage for your best self to show up more often. And you might just find that you can pass on these benefits to others.

"Flow is contagious," says Allen. "When we are in that positive feedback loop, it’s also contagious to others. That’s how I led the orchestra and the audience with my energy." The more you’re in flow, the more others will be, too. As Allen says, "Being in the flow state brings out the best in all of us."

Autotelic personality, flow, and the creative personality

The word "autotelic" derives from the Greek αὐτοτελής (autotelēs), formed from αὐτός (autos, "self") and τέλος (telos, "end" or "goal").

The autotelic personality trait, as described by Csikszentmihalyi (1990), is characterized by the increased ability to experience flow (pleasurable state of optimal performance).

Research findings demonstrate that this predilection is partially genetically inherited, although environmental influences can enhance or curtail this genetic potential (Mosing et al., 2012).

This autotelic trait has also been aligned with the Big Five factors, most notably in a positive direction for extraversion and conscientiousness and in a negative direction for neuroticism and agreeableness.

What is striking is that an increased propensity to experience flow was not associated with openness to experience (Ross & Keiser, 2014). It was posited that the lack of significance between autotelic flow and openness to experience might indicate that openness is a more cognitive attribute; whereas, autotelic flow depends on more sensorimotor feedback.

Because a propensity to experience flow is related to creativity (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996), it is somewhat surprising to see a different Big Five profile in Ross and Keiser’s study.

Less agreeableness and conscientiousness coupled with high openness to experience and extraversion are consistent findings in creative personalities (Feist, 1998; Furnham & Bachtiar, 2008; Mesurado & de Minzi, 2013).

The autotelic personality shared greater extraversion with the creative personality profile but, unlike the creative personality, there was no significant association with openness to experience and a positive relationship to conscientiousness.

Although these two profiles, the autotelic personality profile and the creative profile, seem to be different, future studies should investigate performing artists to see if an autotelic personality resembles a performing artist personality profile.

Current findings demonstrate that individuals who possess autotelic personalities have greater capacity to meet challenges (Asakawa, 2004), achieve goals (Ishimura & Kodama, 2009), derive a sense of fulfillment, have more active strategies to cope with challenges, and claim satisfaction with life (Asakawa, 2010; Hirao & Kobayashi, 2013).

These are all important features for performing artists, especially because these features will help them meet the challenge of managing careers that are inherently stressful (Marchant-Haycox & Wilson, 1992).

References

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi books:

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2002). Flow: The psychology of happiness: The classic work on how to achieve happiness. London, UK: Rider.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2004). Flow, the secret to happiness [Video file]. Retrieved from TED
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2013). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York, NY: Random House.
Others Researcher's books:
Dietrich, A. (2003). Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis. Consciousness and Cognition, 12(2), 231-256.
Dietrich, A. (2004). Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the experience of flow. Consciousness and Cognition, 13(4), 746-761.
Getzels, J. W., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1976). The creative vision: A longitudinal study of problem finding in art. Wiley.
Gruber, M. J., Gelman, B. D., & Ranganath, C. (2014). States of curiosity modulate hippocampus-dependent learning via the dopaminergic circuit. Neuron, 84(2), 486-496.
Koehn, S., Morris, T., & Watt, A. P. (2013). Flow state in self-paced and externally-paced performance contexts: An examination of the flow model. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 14(6), 787-795.
Lickerman, A. (2013, April 21). How to reset your happiness set point: The surprising truth about what science says makes us happier in the long term. Psychology Today. Retrieved from Psychology Today.
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2009). Flow theory and research. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 195-206).
Ullén, F., de Manzano, Ö., Almeida, R., Magnusson, P. K., Pedersen, N. L., Nakamura, J., … & Madison, G. (2012). Proneness for psychological flow in everyday life: Associations with personality and intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(2), 167-172.
Walker, C. J. (2010). Experiencing flow: Is doing it together better than doing it alone? The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(1), 5-11.

How to pronounce Mihály Csíkszentmihályi(Mihály Csíkszentmihályi)

The Mihály Csíkszentmihályi pronunciation in English:

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (29/09/1934 - 20/10/2021) is pronounced mee-HAH-ee CHEEK-sehnt-mee-hah-yee.

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (/ˈmiːhaɪ ˈtʃiːk-sɛnt-miˈhaɪ/; Hungarian: [ˈmihaːj ˈt͡ʃiːksɛntmihaːji])

Learn More

Did you like it? Help us spread the word!