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  • I was the top ranked player in armor for battlefield 3 until 1 month ago I realized I had to achieve this mental state of flow through other means, now i just have to find what intrigues me as much as being challenged by 32 people all at once. Should be easy right?The only thing i can even begin to compare with being in a flow state would be certain drugs. I don't agree with his timeline for being able to achieve a flow state, as i've experienced it within minutes of starting an activity.

  • @TroyMccluresbreth which timeline are you talking bout?

    

  • Read his book, nearly twelve years ago. That guy simply saved my life. After reading it, i could sing without feeling guilty or a waste of time. I have been doing it, in public, started last march, this year only (about time, uh...). Les choses les plus évidentes sont quelquefois les plus difficiles à s'accorder. Sur ce, je retourne l' accorder cette guitare et ma voix ;-)

  • I feel flow when doing pick-up :)

  • Thumps up if Stenden brought you here. (why am I even doing this..)

  • I feel flow when I do dragonboat racing and when I make presents for friends.

  • What a relief the comments aren't being rolled by new atheists showing off their cynicism. "If I can't put it in an equation, it doesn't exist, yadayada, this is stupid supernatural bullshit yadayada neuroscience will explain why this is entirely unremarkable, yadaya". For once, the artists are queing up to say (like me)

    "We had this experience too and this guy is onto something real and valuable".

  • @b1ackhatd3vilz Fair point.

    BTW would someone UNSPAM b1ackhatd3vilz comment? I'm the one he's calling an idiot and he has a perfect right to do so if only because he happens to have a point. If you don't like the opinion, it's dishonest to flag it as spam when it's clearly not spam.

  • I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn't experienced this. Perhaps not.

  • @winder487 Interesting reply. Maybe you're right. I think everyone has had the experience of being excited and into what they're doing. But most artists who report the experience say they needed about six years before they felt the work 'coming through them', instead of being in reasonable control of what they're doing. Maybe that's elitist, but they all agreed it was more fun and satisfying then sex. Are you having that doing something else?

  • Fulfillment at work or in life is not about the money, not the limelight.. but the way you feel when you are working, when you are living. If fulfillment is what you seek, this concept of FLOW may well be what you are looking for. May be you can't spell or pronounce this mans name.. he is Amazing!

  • Ken Robinson is more humorous 

  • @boarding5401

    We're not talking about education, we're talking about fulfillment

  • I used to fear the feeling, like I was somehow going to fuck it all up. But this man has showed me that it isn't a thing to be feared, but sought after.

  • Get the book, "Pursuing Fulfillment" it provides the foundation and fuel toward a fulfilled life.

  • His depiction of this ecstasy is so true. We each bear a touch of greatness in us and sometimes, this ecstasy comes us and sometimes it doesn't. But when it does. we shine like never before.

  • I like his dry sense of humor.

  • There is many names, but flow is a legit state. I can feel it in many different situations, kinda like smoking weed but without THC..

  • nonduality

  • I don't think he is an amazing presenter but I do know that Czikszentmihalyi's idea is HUGELY influential

  • I reached a flow like state a few weeks ago. I had anxiety, usually I fight negative emotions. This time instead of resisting my anxiety I allowed it completely and accepted it. Suddenly I felt immersed to the surroundings. I felt elevated and awake, whole next day I felt illuminated and grateful to be alive. I think flow is the moment itself when you completely forget yourself. I now have had few more moments like this. Flow is letting/allowing the nature run through you and flowing with it.

  • @Piitsi --- incredible, what a great flip from anxiety. Congrats.

  • I've experienced this feeling of "flow" only a few times in my life. However, my most memorable experience was a time I was writing. The words truly did flow from my mind and fingertips almost automatically. Before I knew it, about 3 to 3-1/2 hours had passed as if it were only minutes! It is an amazing and awesome feeling and experience! You must read this man's books!!!

  • It took me 1 hour and 14 minutes to watch this on a 56k modem.

  • @Saytahne666 LOL. lame shit

  • @NitroAndDeathMetal You seem to be in a state of anxiety ;)

  • dos anybody knows who is he talking about, the man that gave the lecture about flying saucers?

  • @nataliacanul Carl Jung

  • @nataliacanul carl jung. he said it.

  • Comment removed

  • This video really had a lot of information in it considering it couldn't have been more than a minute.

  • haha yeah, I love it/hate it when I sit at the piano for 2 hours and it feels like 3 minutes have passed. I love it because I'm so immersed in the music but I hate it because I just realised I've pissed away 2 hours I probably couldn't afford to begin with.

  • Am I the only one that thinks that flow is as close to control and arousal as it is to the rest of the conditions? They have the same midpoint and extend the same distance and area.

    I believe in flow, but that chart confuses me.

  • @Candyshooter I know what you mean and i think you're right but what I think he tries to show in the chart is that the midpoint is the average, or mean, of skills and challenges. Everything just goes from there. Like if you're at the midpoint then you have a certain skill in something and then you heighten the difficulty of something, the midpoint of your emotions then turns into arousal. One can go from the midpoint to a certain emotion by changing the magnitude of one's skill and/or challenge.

  • @Candyshooter Look at the x and y axis.

  • I only encountered this due to it being Flowcember at the present time.

  • My childhood was dominated by computer games for this very reason.

  • @kuentai your childhood was dominated by computer games 'cause you're a nerd

  • @kuentai I did spend a huge amount of my teens with Computer Games as well.One must remember that Computer Games are merely a substitute for other activities that might bring your state of mind into Flow as well. Focusing on achieving Flow through social activities adds up very useful character traits such as Charisma and Confidence as a bi product.

  • @kuentai If you are to spend the majority of your time in life with other people focusing on social interactions and prestige Computer Games are not the best choice. However challenging and healthy for a creative mind, this is not a good choice over other activities. Remember you become good at what you do

    ->

    Good at sitting in front of a computer

    or good in company with others. Take your pick.

  • @XxbruncyxX Yeah I don't disagree, I came to the same conclusions when I came across all of these videos over a year ago when I posted the comment, if you can read you'll note it says 'childhood' damn I think I'll delete it, all these replies are starting to get annoying.

  • flying saucers, eh...

  • This is sooooooooooo fantastic. This is definitely one of the very best TEDs I've seen.

  • we waste most of our energy anger ,jealousy ,ECT ECT. Simply because of our" EGO". EGOs duty is to save our save our self from potential danger but what happen is EGO goes out of our control Eg- every one fear of future, fear of uncertainty of tomorrow,fear of others(" what pople will think??" ),we fear of loosing respect, loosing power ,and our mind become clutter .so its hard to fine unconditional love with us coz EGO control us.tha day you overcome your fears and your doubts you become free

  • i think if you can get rid of fear social fears,fear of danger in situation and self doubt. with strong will ,or self confident. i think we can "FLOW" Eg- Brazil Soccer player pale and Formula one driver Sinna talk about this "FLOW" kind a oneness where can be achieved by meditation and spiritual practice .where your ID ,EGO,and Super EGO activities become noting.you become super natural no more mind clutter wow what a feeling.

  • "FLOW "something to do with maslow's self actualization.???all the characters of this type people goes with FLOW ...just my opinion this is from sri lanka.

  • @careemntb Yeah, it seems like the Flow is the acute psychophysical state of pure self-actualization! Very interesting! Csikszentmihalyi and Maslow rule! And George Kelly of course...

  • @dovlinhos ...agreed. 

  • i belive all religion is talking about as final destination as FLOW.be it budda,Sufi, ETC Etc .those who were in the FLOW Know that the environment around us become your control ,so much joy ,lost in time ,every moment is enjoyable be it playing music ,speaking ,working, .something like after you smoke weed kind a feeling. budda ,jesus,Osho,Muhamed ,what they preach is kind a weird since we are not in the flow like them,its like explaning some one is born blind. love drunk rumy.

  • Love it. I want to measure my flow. Who else wants to join.

  • I think he's referring to a spiritual potential which lies in each person; there are ways of accessing that potential - the common ingredient seeming to be the WILLINGNESS (not the ability, which will come on a schedule unknown to us) to "see" (perceive) others - ALL others - with unconditional love. This engages the mind to realize our true Oneness with others, which reduces the energies needlessly dissipated in being competitive, judgmental, angry, etc. And the life-giving "flow" comes.

  • @bbriley42 easily said but do u think its that easy to consider an irritating evil person as part of u and not be angry or judgemental whenthey do harm to u intentionally?

  • @zxcvqwer84 - I agree with you that "turn the other cheek" (much different than being self-demeaning) is TERRIBLY difficult, but we are told to "persist, persist..." in prayer in being willing and able to act that way. To call another person an "irritating evil" person is already to have passed a judgement against the person (instead of just dealing with his/her behavior), and that in turn is ultimately a judgement against oneself, setting one up for pain and depression. Thanks for the note.

  • @bbriley42 i agree with you . become oneness yeh you are right . we need to talk about this this is careem from srilanka

  • @careemntb, we all need to outgrow our sense of being separate from one another, but it is a daunting journey for most of us. We have to let go of the inner barriers of fear of "the other" which have built up over many generations. We can no longer think of others as Muslim or Christian or American or Sri Lankan, but as BEINGS sharing the planet alike. I think we are "called" to that state of BEING by a Divine Force, and it inspires me, even as I can be shocked by fears & rage inside myself.

  • @bbriley42 spot on dude .man you feel that way i feel .

  • I bet 100000000000000000 million dollar .Hitler was in the stage of flow when he was speaking to German people and i bet most of his activity was in stage of flow and it bring you the charismatic personality..I worked for amex sri lanka and i found hard my job its highly challenging with my skills after 4 years i experience flow after the lots of anxiety and stress trust me now i can brainwash anyone and do anything from others i feel like some time i control others mind crary but i love flow

  • @careemntb

    You make a very important point here - just 'flow' itself. self-improvement, intelligence, and being in a state of efficient skill does not necessarily make any 'moral' improvements.

    As you point out - it could just as easily be used for evil purposes as it could for good.

    'Flow' could be used to start a cult (Hitler) or it could be used to improve a happy family.

    I'm happy you mentioned this because this is something often missed in the equation of life quality.

  • @careemntb lol...that was funnny! I think hitler was in as state of arousal. he forgot control :P

    more on hitler search for phil zimbardo!

  • i experienced this Flow Experience 4 times in my life .god damned i cant get back to flow agaain i meditating rading flow books,doing yoga ,damned i tryed everyhing to come to flow .can any body help me plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

  • well, it can also be put as... "I'm/we're in the ZONE". whenever we do whatever gives us that state of mind, it just feels 'natural', if I may dare to use the word. Once you realize how it works (and over a period of time), this feeling can be tapped in whenever you want, meaning.. we can get into the zone quicker (than we did before or say someone else). It's quite similar to happiness, I feel... we always have it. All we have to do is try and keep a positive attitude.

    Loved the talk :) Cheers!

  • No-mind. This is what meditation techniques help you to experience. But you don't have to sit still to be creative and free from your own mind and distractions all around you. You just do what you love doing and loose yourself in the action and moment. In that "headspace" everything seems effortless and full of meaning and you get to see things as they are, opposed as what you think they are.

    When I forget myself and become the music...that is authentic.

  • Super Mario World is a flow engine

  • @Skrankston Exactly. This is what I love of the theory of flow, because it shows why people love playing videogames. It has an aspect of timelesness, a challenge, an intense experience of concentration.

    For me, I felt flow during videogames, but also when making animations. I've created a few flipbook animations in my life, and they take up a lot of time but you wouldn't tell as soon as you're busy. The amount of concentration is incredible, it's amazing.

  • i wasn't paying close enough attention to this video. good video and message i'm sure, but this guy's english has a sense of timelessness too.

  • "Existence is temporarily suspended"...

  • i truely believe happiness comes from being "free". In other words, freeing yourself from the negativity masked around the world around you. Not being concerned about what is "normal" about your thoughts, etc. Letting destiny take its course. If you end up crazy, then that's just your destiny. But don't be afraid of it, embrace it. It's all you can do.

  • This video says that everyone should do things they like and enjoy doing more?

  • @ImprovisEe I think it's more about enjoying what you're doing whatever it is.

  • great video

  • After many years of video games and sports, I've become addicted to the flow state. Sometimes, I can even achieve the flow state during meditation. Though, I still don't understand why this feeling is inherently pleasant. How is it that this state of mind came to be rewarded with dopamine output?

    It's always funny to me how becoming aware of my presence in the flow state is the quickest way to undo my flow state.

  • I'm training to teach right now so I'm stuck in anxiety, occasionally I drop into arousal or worry.

  • Fantastic. Thanks to whoever put this up....I'm a student in NZ and writing an essay on this wonderful guy so this really helped! Flow is a great theory!

  • I was fortunate enough to take a class taught by Mike as part of my MBA at CGU. Life altering insights on meaning.

  • sleep....is he making a point?

  • Yes, but you're not intelligent enough to understand it at this point in time.

  • actually you have a good point cuz he didn't have a point like some of the other ted talks. What he was talking about was really fascinating and its something I think everybody should think about, but it wasnt like, "we should encourage each other to get into our flow" or anything. It was more like a progress report...

  • Inducing flow , you can always induce flow by starting small , do something small you enjoy , asess what ytou're doing , the negatives and the positives. Try to aviod making the same mistakes you always make while making sure that you improve on your strengths , over time , with work , you enter a flow what you do seems natural to you and you wouldn't ever have it any other way , what you do is upto you , what you experience when you've gotten past your first major milestone id your ecstacy.

  • i like this one: chicks-sent-me-high-e

  • his name is prononced six cent mihali.

    one of those rational Psychologists.

  • This is a Hungarian name, should be pronounced like this: chiq cent mi howyee

  • haha

    you're right about that!

  • Comment removed

  • I'm not even going to attempt to pronounce that name.

  • Thanks for the gr8 upload!!!

    Learn about the anicent teachings of Hinduism>the original source fountain

  • Bravo three times over!

  • That timelessness aspect of flow is so true! When I compose, I sometimes sit at the piano for over 4 hours without realizing a moment has gone by! It used to be that way with practicing other composer's work, but that lost a bit of it's 'flow' magic after 15 years or so! It truly is one of the weirdest and most rewarding feelings in the world out there!

  • Thank you for this comment. Now and then I make the same experience like you when I play guitar or arrange songs. The funny thing is I don't realise. Suddenly a lot of time has passed and I missed an appointment. Ups :) :) ;)

  • I get you.

  • @pureaKero Time flies when you're having fun!

  • The Favorite! his books are amazing! they are really worth to read them!

    (He has hungarian roots :D )

  • You mean "My favorite".

  • That is a really great 'mandate'...

    I enter flow in many if not most of the activities I engage in... I wonder if everyone just has a different tendency or if it is actually a skill that can be learned?

  • This bit rate has implications for how we work together as well. Herbert Simon won the 1979 Nobel Prize in economics for his Theory of Bounded Rationality. This theory describes strategies such as values, beliefs, etc. that people use to make sense of a world that generates more information than 110 bits per second.

  • The brain is a great at recognizing patterns, so the 110 bits per second accumulate over time. It seems to take about 10 years of diligent work to accumulate enough bits to achieve creative mastery.

  • Comment removed

  • The bit rate per second comes from Shannon's information theory. This theory quantifies the number of bits per second over a noisy channel. It computes the download speed of your internet connection, among others.  A good conceptual book is "Introduction to information theory" by Pierce, which is available for about $6.

  • whoa. thats all.

  • Grandma wisdom

  • "your brain can only process 110 bits at once" - guess it's not important to the talk, but is that scientific? where do you get it from?

  • Thanks, I really enjoyed finding out how Csikszentmihalyi's ideas involved and getting a personal glimpse of him.

  • 15:59-16:04

    +1

  • 14.08: Knowing that the activity is doable - that our skills are adequate to the task?

    I agree with his other points, but this I can't. There's so much that I must improve on. My skills are never adequate.

  • @wetyewruyrtsutrdhjfg according to the chart; That would be placed under 'anxiety'. If you shift your average some points below, then you can be in flow.

  • You have a problem in spelling which sucks.

  • I really agree with the flow theory

  • Wu-wei, the no-mind.

  • this has a lot of insight. Thanks for posting.

  • Excellent and insightful talk!

  • His book brought me so much insight I learned his full name out of my head. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi for president!

  • Excellent talk. I wish Dr. Csikszentmihalyi's read what's on the screen--t's hard to listen to him & read at the same time...must be beyond my 60-bit processing limit :-)

  • Az osszes tiszteletem !

  • I really could use some flow right now.

  • He is hungarian from europe

  • cont'd: Notice I said more of a flow state, because these things don't just come in pure cases, there are gradations. Also, he's describing "ideal" cirumstances, but there were people in his book who were able to develop flow states under "less then ideal" circumstances also.

  • By God he knows his stuff! One of the points he makes in his books is that you can learn how to develop more of a flow state no matter what situation you're in. The ultimate goal is to have more flow states in every area of your life, ultimately being able to be in some version of a flow state in any situation--not the rare kind, just the garden variety...if you can develop more of a flow state you can improve everything on a subjective level.

  • ...another way to say it is to simply be in the moment...it's not a new concept...being present to the task and in your body - while doing the dishes, while gardening, while making a clay pot --- Eastern religions mapped the territory long ago.

  • yeah, he talks about the eastern religions a bit in his book Flow. by the way, there were people in his book who were able to maintain a flow state despite being in a concentration camp. I know that's rare, but to "simply be in the moment" wouldn't sum that up very well for me.

  • i grew up in a very stressful and violent home and somehow i just discovered a state of 'flow' .. really the only option if you want to survive in situations like that. its funny i found it just comes naturally.

  • That's not what he means by flow

  • i think i understand flow .. a free floating bouyant mentality .. aware of what it can and can't alter .. very much on the ball and without self conflict .. ? am i wrong?

  • The context that he presents his idea in is not a meditative concept of "going into a peace-like state", especially to avoid current tensions (look up Immaculee Ilibagiza), though that is a side-effect of it. He's talking about the concept of when high level of skill is developed in something to the point you can get in the "zone" while doing it. His book is good. You should pick it up.

  • yes i have met him and chatted with him, and read his work. I understand what the zone is.. my experience seems to agree with what he describes. I actually feel there is a state in which most tasks are accomplished well, not just ones you have practised. its like 'beginner's mind".

  • That's similar but not exactly what he's describing

  • tis so! :)

  • Nope, what you're describing is the Eckart Tolle-esqe Zen Buddhism "mushin" idea. This is different in that it specifically arises out of an activity with developed skill rather than avoiding thinking.

  • i am so definitely not talking about anything like mr tolle's ideas .. the odd thing about the very high states of mind is that they do ultimately converge. Being fantastic at a skill could actually be breathing or walking or juggling or cycling .. there is a core of stillness and no-thought at the heart of a full immersion in activity. I seriously know what i'm talking about here :)

  • being present is effortless. everything else is noise.....drop the noise is the key.

  • I enjoyed reading this man's book, Flow.

  • This is describing concentration.  Deep, involved concentration engages all of these stages.

  • disagree that it takes 10 years of leaning to reach these stages of ecstasy. the first time this happened for me I was improvising for hours at a time while i learned to play guitar. it doesn't require intense development.

    Same with poetry. i used to be very serious about writing poetry and i knew how to open that creative door. as long as you spend long amounts of time focusing on a mental task, you can open that door.

  • I agree. I've had some very similar experiences, and it does seem like flow can originate from effort alone.

  • "You can't be creating anything with less than ten years of technical knowledge immersion in a particular field whether it's Mathermatics or Music. It takes that long to begin to change something in a way that it's better than what was there before."

    I think the point he is trying to make is unless you truly mastered a skill, that usually takes 10 years, you can't expect to create a Master piece effortlessly.

  • That's not what he said. Pay attention.

  • you pay attention

  • no it doesnt..chart shows you with increased challenges and increased skill level you reach a state of flow in information, creativity and productivity. cet par

  • i figured thats why i didnt like TV as much, soon there will be even somn better than youtube

  • great :)

  • imádlak tündérsziv!

  • He must be flowing up on that stage, lucky for media studies he's no good at piano.

  • he's a genius. flow is profound.

  • Even though there are clear differences of the terminology used when writing comments, my understanding of FLOW was a psychological state of satisfaction through an activity or rather creativity. I have recently started a blog by name ATHMAANANDAM(tendency for a happy soul)for my art work. The important component of FLOW is my case was my personal involvement and how unique can my work finally turn out to be. I am not in FLOW when I watch a good movie,its mostly a pleasure.

  • It is Impossible for you to not be in The Flow! Try not being in the present moment. Same thing

  • flow is not same as being in present moment idiot, - its a state of uthoria, focus, effortlessness, oness, where you lose awarness of everything around you and are totally absorbed in what you are doing.

  • I like the diagram at the end but it seems a little simplified. Challenge and skills are good measures but what about natural enjoyment, what about doing what you want to do? You might have high skills and a high challenge, but what happens if you emotionally do not like the activity? Surely you then resist the flow phase?

  • Chart shows u "everything in moferartion"

  • That's quite a surname!

    Very interesting talk though.

  • Any extreme is an imbalance, even if it is "good" like ecstacy. Ecstasy is a dangerous place to be.

  • If you are refering to the Daoist notion that all extreme emotions are somewhat harmful. I think you have misunderstood both the ancient seers and I think you have seriously misunderstood what MC is saying. Concentration is "intense", but emotionally he describes it as serene. I don't think he ever describes flow as "extreme".

  • COMMENT TWO:

    Can one function well when not in harmony with the environment? That explains potential. The better you function, the better you are in tune with the environment. Pls anyone feel free to take this further or argue against this.

  • where has my comment one gone?

  • pretty much all smart people seem to agree that television is bad for you, but is youtube bad for you? either way, im pretty sure this particular video is good for me!

  • Television wouldnt be bad for you if it was more stuff like this video. If television were intellectually stimulating rather than brainwashing and other negative shit, it would be good for you.

  • interesting

  • Look at the fundamental difference between television and youtube. Television is an acceptance media. You have to accept the commercials and available programming on a particular channel. True that youtube now does have some advertisements, but it is a "choice" media. Changing the channel is nowhere near having the ability to search for absolutely any video, from any time period, from anywhere around the world. This access is wide ranged and incredibly more rich and in depth than television.

  • 15:45 Best graph EVER! lol

  • I agree :P

  • "Only a surfer knows the feeling..." ;)

  • I liked this lecture very much. It makes me think of what I need to do, to get to that state of flow.

  • @jasonlajoie: I encourage you to read his book "Flow - The Psychology of Optimal Experience", it's one of my all time favorites. Although it is not a self-help book, it really made me think about how I can consciuosly produce more flow in any area of my life.

  • Psychology is such a primitive science, people will look back on psychology in fifty years and wonder how we got by at all.

  • Alchemy became chemistry with time. We need to start somewhere.