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Finding Flow
The polymath Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
described "flow" as being a pleasurable state of mind in
which a person is fully involved, focused, and absorbed,
accomplishing a challenging task or cognitive process.
Flow is what motivates innovators and artists, and it
provides "flashes of intense living" against dreary
routine of boredom an anxiety.When in a state of flow, a person
loses a sense of time and "hours seem like minutes".
When Csikszentimihalyi
studied motivation in a 1000 gifted and talented
adolescents, he found those who developed their
abilities the most, were more likely to engage in
activities that created a state of flow, and tended to
spend less time socializing with peers.
Apparently 15% of typical Americans say that a state of
flow never happens to them, while 20% say it may happen
several times a day. Being able to experience flow on a
regular basis is correlated with higher levels of work
and life satisfaction, and more happiness.
Helping Students Find Flow
Studies and flow and motivation in young people show
that as they head into middle school, many lose interest
in challenging activities and grades often drop (Middle
School Malaise).
The highest flow-inducing activities seem to be with
sports and games, and hobbies - with the latter having
more potential to relate to future career plans.
As students head into their teen years, it's important
to encourage them to follow through with extracurricular
interests, and to develop islands of expertise that
could later lead to more challenging work and careers.
Students develop the most when they are raised in
families that are both challenging and yet not overly
concern with conventional achievement. Parents should be
prepared to encourage children as they experiment with
different interests and dabble, but also encourage
independent decision-making.
From biographies of creative and influential people,
some later work interests were often foreshadowed by
clusters of particular hobbies:
Childhood Hobby
Adult Career
Nature, Collections
Science
Building, Mechanical
Engineering, Inventors
Voracious Reading, Vivid
Writing, Social Sciences
Personal Memory
Argument, Debate
Law, Politics
Numbers, Puzzles, Patterns
Mathematics, Economics, Computers
Money, Sports Statistics
Math, Money, Independence
Business
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