The Benefits of Flow by Marina Raynaud
Catch…Drive…Swing. Catch…Drive…Swing.
I can hear the sound of the oar locks clacking in unison as I finish my stroke. If I tilt my head up, I can see the rest of my team catching and driving at the same rhythm, as if we are one unit. In the corner of my eye, I can see the beautiful mountains and a stream created by the movement of the blades coming off the water. Although I am tired, my teammates’ energy helps me persevere through the pain. I’m focused. Steady. Only paying attention to the movement of the boat.
As a rower, getting into the flow of your row is one of the most incredible things you can experience and makes the effort worth it. It’s even more empowering and motivating to achieve as a team. Flow is also known as Engagement which is a dimension of the PERMA model: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment (Seligman, 2012). Engagement is being fully absorbed in an activity (Cheavens and Feldman, 2022). Some ways that people engage in flow are through sports, arts, writing, meditation, or poetry. For me personally, rowing has been the way that I have found flow and engagement in my life. It has been greatly beneficial to my mental health. I row three to six days a week, which allows me to find flow in my life nearly every day.
Flow occurs when you have both total concentration in an activity and you lose your sense of the passage of time. According to Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi (2001), flow is more likely to occur when there is a clear goal in mind for each portion of the activity. With rowing, there are individual techniques with unique strokes to be mastered and performed efficiently. If improper technique is used, the boat will feel heavier or be off set. The stroke is an integral part of rowing. Concentrating on performing all parts of the stroke correctly increases one’s sense of flow while engaging in this sport.
Immediate feedback from the action is also important to flow. “Such feedback occurs while you are engaged in the activity, allowing you to merge your actions with your awareness” (Cheavens & Feldman, 2022). In rowing, you receive immediate feedback because a small technique or condition change can change how the boat feels or how fast the boat goes. When you are racing, you’re so engaged in rowing as fast and as well as you can, that the awareness of a change in the speed or set of the boat allows the rowers to instinctively make adjustments to their technique to help mitigate this change.
The final defining characteristic of flow is that there must be a balance between the difficulty of the action and skill level required. If an action is too difficult, it may be too stressful to invite the experience of flow. However, if an action is too easy, then a person may not focus on the activity enough to enter a state of flow (Nakamura & Csikszentmihalyi, 2001). In an experiment by Moneta and Csikszentmihalyi (1996), 208 adolescents nominated by their teachers were asked about their experience doing various activities for seven days. Moneta and Csikszentmihalyi discovered that if there was a good balance between the level of difficulty of an activity and the person’s ability to execute the activity, the participant was able to concentrate better. The participants who were well-matched with their skill level also felt more enjoyment and happiness within the activity, which is characteristic of a flow state.
Rowing requires focus and concentration on stroke technique to be able to have a well set and fast boat. However, it is not impossible or intensely difficult to acquire this skill. There are times though, where someone may be so tired that they are unable to experience flow while rowing, because their exhaustion leads them to concentrate on the pain rather than the activity.
Finding flow is an essential part of the PERMA model that can lead to more happiness and satisfaction in life. Finding ways to practice flow, whether it’s every day or a few times a week, can greatly improve your mental health. It is essential to remember to find an activity that is both a bit challenging and matches your skill level, so that the experience invites a sense of flow. For me personally, I have found the correct balance of skill and challenge through rowing, which has helped me find flow throughout my life.
I encourage you to find flow within your life, whether it’s through physical exercise, mediation, art, or some other form of activity.
Marina Raynaud (she/her/hers) is an undergraduate student at UCSB majoring in Sociology and minoring in Applied Psychology. Her research interests include utilizing various positive psychology interventions to increase purpose and meaning in an individual's life. She has experience with peer counseling as she works for CAPS at a Mental Health Peer. As a member of the CAPPC team, Marina is looking forward to spreading valuable information regarding positive psychology interventions.
References
Cheavens, J. S., & Feldman, D. B. (2022). The science and application of positive psychology. Cambridge University Press.
Moneta, G. B., & Csikszentmihályi, M. (1996). The effect of perceived challenges and skills on the quality of subjective experience. Journal of Personality, 64(2), 275-310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00512.x
Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihályi, M. (2001). Flow theory and research. In C. R. Snyder, E. Seligman, M. E. P. (2012). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Simon and Schuster.
Seligman, M. E. (2012). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Atria Paperback.
