Creating Flow While Stuck at Home
Even in a year of big crisis, small acts inspire calm and creativity
While growing up in Europe in the fragile aftermath of World War II, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi noticed that many people couldn’t find the strength to put their lives back together. He dedicated his life to discovering what makes life worth living. And Csikszentmihalyi believes he has found it.
His seminal research on the elusive “flow state” transformed the trajectory of positivity research. “Flow,” a mental state characterized by active, blissful immersion, has now been recognized as an ideal of the human experience. Surprisingly, Csikszentmihalyi contends that humans are actually most at peace when they are most inspired, challenged, and engaged. In Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life, Csikszentmihalyi writes that: “The quality of life does not depend on happiness alone, but also on what one does to be happy.”
During the pandemic, citizens around the world suddenly found themselves home-bound and unmoored. The coronavirus, an unseen enemy, could only be defeated by retreat — by staying home, by collective inaction, by placing our entire lives on hold. Being pack animals, ever reliant on communal ties, our isolation has compounded our stress.
