Tag: Flow

Posted on by

Play – the most effective workout

In previous posts I brought up the idea Flow and how performance is heightened when there is a certain ratio of Skill : Difficulty – and how Flow is synonyms with Happiness.

PLAY is an activity that brings happiness or at least enjoyment.

This post will explore why Play should be adopted into your movement routine.

First the obvious : adding Play into your movement routine will increase enjoyment as well as improve the quality of your performance.

But the not so obvious is what goes on in the brain.

  • Play literally re-wires the brain.

Play will keep you healthy just as much as exercise. The two together compound and enhance the effect. Play uses less effort while providing higher gains, making for a more effective workout!

HOW you adopt Play into your Training is up to you.

What Play-in-the-workout will involve is getting in touch with how you move. That is the whole point of this kind of Training i.e. learning to move better.

Consider a Test – Play – Retest Protocol

Example:

Do a 5 reps of a Goblet Squat –

Play around with the ‘Squat’ movement pattern. Focus on whatever is the most challenging part of the movement for you.

Do 5 more Goblet Squats –

Then ask yourself: was the second set better? same? or worse? and then Learn from the answer. Anything that makes your squat easier can be used as a corrective exercise specific to you!

And isn’t that what we all want?

Thats all for now,

hope this has made you consider playing around more in the gym!

Posted on by

FLOW Knowledge: Flow Fun, Flow Family.

==v==v==v==v==

Flow Fun! (Games)

Roger Caillois:

Psychologist and anthropologist – divided all games into 4 categories:

Agon

Games that are competitive in nature, like most sports and athletic events, participants pit skills against skills.

Alea

Chance is the defining feature; Aleatory games are enjoyable because they give the illusion of controlling the future.

Ilinx

Consciousness altering experiences via by scrambled perception – Any activity that transforms the way we perceive reality is enjoyable.

Mimicry

Activities in which alternative realities are created; dance, theater, the arts etc – make us feel part of something bigger than ourselves.

 

All games provide a sense of transporting one’s self into a new reality, much like how Flow has been described.

==v==v==v==v==

THE AUTOTELIC PERSONALITY

The question at hand is this;

Do all people have the same potential to control their consciousness?

And if not, what distinguishes those who can achieve Flow easily from those who cannot?

 

Here are a few things to think about-

  • Attentional disorders:
    – when a person cannot control their attention they cannot attain flow
  • Schizophrenia:
    – Schizophrenic individuals have ‘over inclusion’ of stimuli due to a neurological pathology.
  • Chronic Stress:
    – attention is too erratic to get involved and enjoy a moment.
  • Self-Centeredness:
    – attention is too tightly controlled around the image of the self.

 

WHEREAS;

  • Individuals who can enjoy themselves anywhere have the ability to focus on what is important at the time.
  • These people pay close attention to minute details of their daily lie and environment, and in this way they are able to discover new and unique opportunities for enjoyment, or Flow.
  • The actions these individuals choose are ones suitably challenging for whatever situation they find themselves in,
  • These individuals constantly monitor their progress through some sort of feedback.
  • When adversity strikes, these people invest their attention in areas that are positive and constructive -they are not motivated by external factors, but internal ones.

 

 “The most important trait of survivors is a “non-selfconscious individualism,” or a strongly directed purpose that is not self-seeking.”
– Bruno Bettelheim

==v==v==v==v==

THE AUTOTELIC FAMILY

Optimal experience in a family setting is not impossible, try to incorporate these five characteristics and you will be well on your way to Family Fun!

1) Clarity:

  • Children need to know what is expect from them—goals and feedback in the family interaction are important

<>

2) Centering:

  • Children need to think that their parents are interested in what they are doing, in their feelings and experiences.

<>

3) Choice:

  • Children need to feel they have a variety of possibilities to choose from – this includes breaking rules (as long as they can also accept that their actions have consequences).

<>

4) Commitment:

  • Children need to build trust in others, which allows them to feel comfortable enough in a given situation to become totally involved in whatever they are interested in.

<>

5) Challenge:

  • Parents need to be dedicated enough to provide increasingly complex opportunities for their children. Just like how a good coach adjusts the challenge for their athlete day by day.

<>

> These five characteristics parallel the dimensions of the Flow Experience <

The child who grows up with clear goals and good communication / feedback will also have a feeling of control over their lives.

Setting up an Autotelic family life will encourage focus and increase intrinsic motivation, over and above their increased access to the Flow Experience.

Furthermore these families conserve a great deal of energy by making it possible to increase enjoyment in all aspects of life. (i.e. less fighting!)

 

“Children who know what they can and cannot do, who do not have to constantly argue about rules and controls, who are not worried about their parents’ expectations for future success always hanging over their heads, are released from many of the attentional demands that more chaotic households generate.”
– Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

You are now armed with some valuable knowledge.

With the basics of what makes games fun you can turn LIFE into any game of your choosing.

More than that, you can choose to set up your life such that it positively affects the ‘Flow chances’ of those closest to you.

What more could you want?

<>

Martin Colangelo : “The Better Movement Specialist”

– Blog Author

Owner / Instructor @

*contact me for a consultation

 

Posted on by

The Phenomenology of Flow (HAPPINESS and FLOW series #3)

NOTE – this one is a bit long….

==v==v==v==v==

The Phenomenology of Enjoyment, or FLOW

This is what we went over last time….

The Phenomenology of Enjoyment, or FLOW:

One

  • Must we have a chance of being completed (appropriate skill level).

Two

  • Must be able to concentrate.

Thee

  • Task must have clear goals

Four

  • Must provide immediate feedback.

Five

  • “One acts with a deep but effortless involvement that removes from awareness the worries and frustrations of everyday life. “

Six

  • There is an increased sense of control over one’s life.

Seven

  • Concern for the self disappears, yet paradoxically the sense of self emerges stronger.

Eight

  • Sense of time is altered.

==v==v==v==v==

This Image Represents How To Maintain A ‘Flow’ State Of Mind:

NOW,

Let’s clarify each of the 8 points of the phenomenology of Flow, with help from our visual!

==v==v==v==v==

ONE – “Appropriate Skill Level”

  • The action you chose must have a spectrum of skill level opportunities
  • You must begin at a level specific to your own skill set.

TWO – “Concentration”

  • Learning disabilities and attention disorders inhibit the chances of Flow.
  • External distractors should be minimized (at first).
  • Internal distractors must be dealt with beforehand, or will melt away with the onset of Flow

THREE – “Purpose”

  • Goals must be set, clear goals are better but some is better than none.
  • Arbitrary goals are legitimate when enjoying leisure – wok and personal goals should be well thought out.

FOUR – “(Bio)feedback”

  • The action you chose needs a medium for feedback,
  • Immediate feedback is best, the longer it takes for feedback the lower the chances of Flow.

 

This is when it gets a bit harder to track…

 

FIVE – “Lose Yourself”

  • points One – Four: open up the possibility to loose oneself in the moment
  • And also allows one to cultivate a growing sense of ….

SIX – “Mastery”

  • Growing your sense of control over potentially dangerous sources improves your quality of life by reducing stress.

SEVEN – “Losing yourself, Improves yourself”

  • This process concerns (Five) losing oneself in the moment so intensely that it seems like you ‘are the ball’ so to speak – you become one with the action you’ve chosen –
  • This process also improves our skill level, as well as our ability to concentrate and appreciate life; making you an ever more Extraordinary person!

EIGHT – “Time Fly’s When Having Fun”

  • As a side effect, TIME itself is altered in one way or another – from your ‘Flow’ point of view.

 

==v==v==v==v==

Explanation of the Visual

If ‘A’ is bored and wishes to be in flow again, all ‘A’ has to do is to increase the challenge:

Set a new, more difficult goal that match your / ‘A’s skill level – and ‘A’ is back in flow.

>

If A is anxious, flow can be achieved again by practicing hard to increase your / ‘A’s skills.

Technically you can reduce the challenge to return to flow – but such backward action would not contribute to becoming a more extraordinary person!

==v==v==v==v==

Thoughts on the ‘Flow’ state of mind

<>

The Flow experience describes a task at hand as seemingly effortless, whose justifications is itself.

Flow itself is not bound by any morals – it is just a state of being, a mental state – but the activity you chose may very well be looked down upon (so choose wisely!).

“Water can be both good and bad, useful and dangerous. To the danger, however, a remedy has been found: learning to swim.”

– Democritus

 

The goal, then should be to enjoy daily life as much as possible, without diminishing the enjoyment of others (as much as possible).

<><>

Activities that produce flow often occur in situations in which the ‘safety nets’ of society and culture have been removed. – like courting disaster and surviving.

  • With this comes a growing sense of control over dangerous and chaotic forces. i.e. a sense of Mastery.

Flow activities fully take over consciousness, distorting our sense of time and completely distracting us from daily life – no irrelevant thoughts.

  • This sense of control over entropy can be addictive, and only becomes a problem if these activities are no longer done with conscious choice and interfere with the enjoyment of other activities.

To speed up your path on becoming an extraordinary person and becoming good at a chosen activity is to actually chose an activity that will provide you with lots of opportunities to practice your skill.

<><><>

Flow is an Autotelic Experiences:

Autotelic translated literally from Greek means ‘Self – Goal’.

It refers to a self-contained activity that is done for its own sake.

When focusing on consequences of actions instead of focusing on them for their own sake, it is called an Exotelic Activity

  • Shifts form autotelic to exotelic experiences occur due to shift in perception and external influences
    • For Example; some children when forced into a sport or activity, may find themselves hating that activity later in life.

Autotelic experiences reinforce our sense of self and our sense of control.

Exotelic experiences dissolve our sense of self in the service of external goals.

The most common Autotelic activities are games….(learn how to get the most out of games, next week – stay tuned – )

Stay informed, stay strong and stay tuned!

<>

Martin Colangelo : “The Better Movement Specialist”

– Blog Author

Owner / Instructor @

*contact me for a free consultation

 

Posted on by

The Anatomy of FLOW (HAPPINESS and FLOW series #2)

==v==v==v==v==

The Anatomy of FLOW

Control of consciousness determines our quality of life – This much we know.

So the question is,

How do we learn to control our consciousness?

*Before we get into this, note that: knowledge of how to control consciousness has been known for thousands of years – the issue is that every time the cultural context changes,  the information must be reformulated to fit the new cultural context. For this reason, control over consciousness cannot be institutionalized – “there is no way out of this predicament except for an individual to take things in hand personally.”

> the goal of this article is to help you contextualize Flow and its relationship to Happiness <

FLOW can be achieved in as many ways as there are individuals who care to try.

YOGA – achieves FLOW through mental and physical discipline

ZEN – achieves FLOW through cultivating constant spontaneity

BUT – the intended result is the same:

To free the inner life of an individual from the threat of chaos or entropy.

START – by understanding the limits of consciousness

This is what is meant by ‘limits’ of your consciousness – Obviously, you cannot do things like understand 3 conversations at once…

WHY?

  • Well in the first place, you cannot really truly ‘multitask’
    • What happens is your attention simply flips from one subject, to another, and back again -which effects efficiency and reduces performance of the tasks at hand.

Some nitty-Gritty information on neural processing speeds:

  • 7 bits of info can be processed at any one time
  • 126/ second
  • 7,560/minute
  • ½ million/hour
  • 185 billion/lifetime (75 years @ 16hours of wakefulness)

SO THEORETICALLY,

You ARE able to collect the info from 3 different people talking to you simultaneously.

HOWEVER,

You would have to put out of consciousness ALL other thoughts and sensations.

 

==v==v==v==v==

ATTENTION as a SKILL

Attention selects the relevant bits out of the millions of bits of info available to you at any one time

Attention retrieves the appropriate memories, evaluates the situation, and then chooses the best thing to do – based on the information at hand.

A healthy ability to Focus Attention is one in which consciousness remains under control until the task at hand is completed – despite external distractions.

This skill of attention – whether under direct control or not – determines the contents of one’s thoughts and therefore assists in the creation of who we are.

But what if I cannot ‘pay attention’?

  • What is “I” anyway? – “I” is the thing that decides what to do with your attention.
  • The “I” / The Self, directs attention.
  • and Attention determines the self and the contents of thought (as discussed earlier).
  • Paradoxically; The Self directs attention, while attention determines the self.

<>

Information coming upon your nervous system will either:

  1. Create disorder and get you wound up

OR

  1. Reinforce goals and increase enjoyment, thus freeing up attention which can be focused on making a task at hand more efficient.

FLOW occurs when threats are eliminated and disorder is straightened out.

The battle is not ‘against the self’ – but against the entropy that brings about a disordered mind / consciousness.

Automation: a blessing and a curse

The nervous system is extremely efficient at ‘chunking’ bits of information such that a task that once took 10 units of effort will only need 8 units of effort to complete the next time, maybe 5 the next time and so on and so on…. this process allows some high achievers to execute intensely complicated computations or movements with seeming ease and grace.

AUTOMATION IS HOW HABITS FORM

Habits can either “good” or “bad”

A good habit is to respond with compassion and to treat others with dignity.

A Bad habit is to respond to a task with dread, rolling your eyes as you curse under your breath.

Both these habits can form WITHOUT ATTENTION i.e. without conscious knowledge or intention (a subconscious process).

One must be ever vigilant in clearing their consciousness of these habitual ways of being, moving, seeing, thinking and interacting with others and their environment.

As we age, the less automation the better – The more of our daily life that is automated, the quicker one follows the biological and social patterns generated by society to their – very literal – end.

…

On a different note,

Time spent in leisure i.e. free from obligations – typically consists of us using the brain/body as little as possible. This lack of use is disturbing because it in fact hinders progression of skills and decreases the likelihood of FLOW.

If one’s skill is not consistently challenged, the likelihood of FLOW decreases. And if certain skill goes unused for a long enough period the body LITERALLY begins to shut it down, i.e. Use It Or Lose It = You ‘Age’.

==v==v==v==v==

 

<>

Martin Colangelo : “The Better Movement Specialist”

– Blog Author

Owner / Instructor @

*contact me for a free consultation

 

Posted on by

How to Become an Extraordinary Person (HAPPINESS and FLOW series #1.2)

How to Become an Extraordinary Person – Continued:

“Improving Quality of Life”

==v==v==v==v==

Having a ‘complex’ personality is always a Bad thing.

Being Extraordinary (as we have been using the term) is the result of two basic but essential mental processes: Integration and Differentiation.

Differentiation

  • Movement toward uniqueness or specialization – and towards separating oneself from others. A self that differentiated (and not integrated) may attain great individual accomplishments – but runs the risks of being mired in egotism.

 

Integration

  • Union with others, ideas and entities beyond the self. Without integration, a fully differentiated system would be a confusing mess. However, an entirely integrated person will be connected and secure, but lack autonomous individuality.

 

A complex self is one that succeeds in combining these opposite tendencies.

 

How FLOW increases HAPPINESS:

  • The self becomes more differentiated as a result of flow:
    • overcoming challenges inevitably leaves a person feeling more capable and skilled.
  • Flow also helps integrate the self:
    • in a state of deep concentration, consciousness is unusually well ordered.

Flow allows us to receive the best from both of these worlds! and thus dramatically improve the quality of our lives.

==v==v==v==v==

Improve your ‘Quality of Life’.

2 Strategies>

1>Try to make your ‘external conditions’ match your goals.

 

2>Change how you experience these ‘external conditions.’

 

#1 is very challenging to do – for altering external conditions does  not always improve existence.

 

#2 since how we feel about ourselves is based on the quality of our experiences – in order to improve one’s ‘quality of life’ – one must inevitably improve the quality of their ‘experiences’

And there are many, MANY ways to go about doing this ….

 

Before We Go Into the Many Ways to Improve ‘Q of L’,

Let us discus the difference between Pleasure and Enjoyment.

Why? I hear you ask…

Because Pleasure and Enjoyment are much different things ***

Enjoyment

Ø  Enjoyable events occur when a person has not only met prior expectation or needs – but has gone beyond and achieved something unexpected.

 

Pleasure

Ø  A feeling of contentment achieved when your consciousness believes expectations set by our “biological and social conditioning” have been met.

 

*** and because Pleasure helps to maintain order, but by itself cannot create new order within consciousness – whereas Enjoyment or Flow can.

==v==v==v==v==

The Phenomenology of Enjoyment, or FLOW:

One

  • Must we have a chance of being completed (appropriate skill level).

Two

  • Must be able to concentrate.

Thee

  • Task must have clear goals

Four

  • Must provide immediate feedback.

Five

  • “One acts with a deep but effortless involvement that removes from awareness the worries and frustrations of everyday life. “

Six

  • There is an increased sense of control over one’s life.

Seven

  • Concern for the self disappears, yet paradoxically the sense of self emerges stronger.

Eight

  • Sense of time is altered.

 

Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety; when the challenges are balanced with the individuals capacity to perform. This occurs when the difficulty of a ‘game’ is kept constant – a fine balancing of challenges and skills – THIS yields the maximum of enjoyment, and increase in the quality of one’s life

==v==v==v==v==

<>

Martin Colangelo : “The Better Movement Specialist”

– Blog Author

Owner / Instructor @

*contact me for a free consultation