Psychologists have studied the nature of high-quality, intrinsically rewarding experiences for decades. Pioneer work looked at the creative process of artists (such as painters, poets, surgeons).* Researchers found commonalities when they eventually sampled more mundane activities. Conversing with friends, working out at the gym, or watching TV all share structural similarities with more exalted experiences.
Positive moments of feeling engaged were labeled “flow experiences,” due to the prevalence of personal descriptions of being “in flow,” reports of getting “in the zone.” This feeling, where decisions and actions seemed to flow naturally, also impacts one’s sense of time and self-consciousness. Alex Honnold, as he attempts to climb El Capitan without a safety net, literally embodies the state of flow.
His work has all the hallmarks of optimal experience:
supremely focused attention
an intense challenge just within reach
an absolutely clear signal of whether success is achieved.
First-hand experience, for example, while reading a good novel, provides an intuitive handle on how this state feels from the inside. A pithy diagram encapsulates the central idea, that flow can lift a person “beyond boredom & anxiety.”
When a task is too easy, our mind wanders, we become bored, and time seems to drag. If the challenge exceeds our current competence, we’re pushed into anxious self-monitoring, waiting impatiently for the experience to end. Only when skills align with challenges can our attention be absorbed with the task-at-hand.