Are you in Flow?

Great stuff from the PBS series This Emotional Life.

Are you in flow? Here are the nine elements that together create the conditions for flow (identified by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi):

1. Clear goals every step of the way—you know exactly what to do next
2. Immediate feedback—when you’re in flow, you can tell how well you’re doing
3. Balance between challenge and skill—the task is not so easy that you get bored, but you have enough mastery to be engaged and successful
4. Action and awareness merge—you’re concentrating completely on what you’re doing
5. Distractions fade away—you’re so absorbed in the activity that you’re not aware of other things
6. There is no worry of failure—you’re too involved to worry about failing; you know what to do and just do it
7. Self-consciousness disappears—you’re not thinking about yourself or protecting your ego because you’re too wrapped up in the task at hand
8. Time flies—you may look up after being in a state of flow surprised at how much time has gone by
9. The activity is meaningful for its own sake, rather than as a means to an end

That last one, doing something for it’s own sake, how often does that happen? I’m really buzzing in this space, especially when working with clients, and being in the moment.