Improving Quality of Life Through Flow State
- Harriet Leedham
- Sep 29, 2025
- 5 min read
Finding flow in nature and music
By Harriet Leedham | 30th September 2025
As a passionate musician I am no stranger to the state of mind which psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls ‘flow’. You might be familiar with the flow state if you have ever found yourself so absorbed in an activity or conversation that you completely lost track of time. I experience this the most often during piano practice. One moment I’m sitting at the piano beginning a warm up task, and the next two hours have sped by without my notice. More recently, I have recognised that this also happens when I am spending time out in nature, walking, gardening, or taking photographs of funky-looking fungi.
Through exploring Csikszentmihalyi’s work, I have learned that flow isn’t just effective and enjoyable in the present moment, but it also has longer lasting benefits to our quality of life.
What is flow?
Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as the optimal experience in which our skill level matches the level of challenge in our environment. In other words, you are engaging in an activity that you feel competent to succeed in without it being too easy. If you still aren’t sure what ‘flow’ feels like, pick an activity that you enjoy and feel good at, and let yourself get completely stuck into it.
Focus your attention
Throughout my childhood and teen years playing the piano was something that I didn’t want to do, but had to at the request of my parents. I’m grateful for that persistence now, but back then I treated my practice sessions like a tick-box exercise, rushing through the technical exercises that my teacher had set for me and playing my piece through from start to finish without sparing any thought to ironing out the (very large and terrible) creases. My hands were on the piano, but my attention was elsewhere. As a consequence flow was non-existent, my rate of improvement was sluggish, and success was low.
Somehow, somewhere along the way I unlocked a passion and now when I play my attention is so fully on my practice that not only do hours fly by unnoticed, but my skills are constantly improving and so is my love for it. This personal experience has shown me firsthand how the direction of our attention matters if we want to be effective in what we do.
Do you need a bigger challenge?
You might notice that you rush some tasks to get them done quickly because they are so boring that you don’t want to spend any more time on them than you absolutely have to. Or maybe you avoid them altogether. Vacuum cleaning the floors is one of these for me. I do it, but only because I have to. As it turns out, the reason I feel bored is because the skill-set required for this task doesn’t challenge me, and so I don’t receive enough mental stimulation. Unfortunately for me, my love for springer spaniels means the floor cleaning never stops.
Do you need to build your skills?
How often do you avoid certain situations because they are too far outside of your comfort zone? Perhaps you’ve always wished you could climb trees or sing in front of an audience, but you’re too afraid to try in case you hurt or embarrass yourself. Simply, you don’t believe that you have the right level of skill to match the challenge of the activity. You might be right, and trying new things is intimidating, but don’t forget, we all have to start somewhere. I accidentally elbowed my dance instructor in the face during one of my beginner salsa dance classes, but I stuck at it and have now built my skills up enough to see progress and feel at least a little bit competent.
Reassuringly, we have a lot more control over our success than we may think! Csikszentmihalyi’s research indicates that it is our own perception of our skill level that predicts success, rather than what we are actually capable of. Simply, if you go into a situation with lower skills, but with a certain level of ‘delulu’, you are more likely to succeed than someone with a high skill level, but lower self-confidence. This confidence in yourself and your abilities means that you’re more likely to have resilience in the face of failure, and keep moving towards your goals no matter how much the endeavour humbles you.
Why does flow feel so good?
One of the main conditions for experiencing flow is something called ‘intrinsic motivation’. This means that you choose to do something purely because you enjoy the process of doing it. I look forward to getting out every day for my morning walk just because of how good I feel when I inhale that fresh air, move my body, and soak in all of the mystical scenes and vibrant colours. This element of the flow state is thought to support our overall happiness and helps us to recognise a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives.
One of the best examples of intrinsic motivation is play. Children involve themselves in all sorts of weird and wonderful games. If you stopped them to ask why they’re doing what they’re doing, most likely the answer would be “because it's fun!” Refreshingly, this desire for play doesn’t stop in adulthood. Our idea of fun might evolve (sourdough baking, anyone?), but the reason for doing certain things remains the same: because it’s fun! Finding fun in our everyday tasks is not just a happy occurrence, but, according to Csikszentmihalyi, an important indicator of perseverance and, ultimately, achieving our goals.
Freedom in flow
As well as flow being an incredibly enjoyable experience, it is fundamental to our quality of life. Entering a flow state provides us with ample opportunity to improve our skills and focus on our goals. It brings meaning to what we do, serves as a compass for our purpose and direction, and the complete absorption in the present moment removes self-consciousness, freeing us momentarily from the worries and problems in our everyday lives.
With the rise in technology and social media, fewer of us are seeking out these flow experiences as they don’t tend to give us the immediate dopamine hit that we are looking for. They might take a little bit more effort to realise, but the much longer-lasting benefits to our mental and intellectual health are worth it.
Conclusion
Entering a flow state benefits our quality of experience, strength of skill-set, and the way we walk through life. It allows us to connect with ourselves, our environments, and our interests effectively and positively, and in turn builds up our sense of purpose and self-confidence. Perhaps by this point you are celebrating the list of things that get you into flow, or maybe you are intrigued to explore new activities that might ignite your passion. The evidence that identifies flow as an important human experience is extensive, and the more ways that we can seek it the better we’ll be in our personal, inter-personal, and professional lives. But don’t take my word for it, find what makes you flow and try it for yourself!
References
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014) Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology: The Collected Works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Dordrecht: Springer
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