Achieving 'flow' may be especially important for children coming from difficult circumstances, which may need a safe space to forget about the adult demands in their lives, such as taking care of younger siblings. Students under a great deal of pressure to achieve can benefit from having a sense of 'pure' play -- unlike school activities, recreation is not supposed to have a 'point.' It is not designed to win a scholarship or to fulfill the demands of a class. For adults, unlike the confusion of competing pulls of work and school, the clear goals of sport or producing a craft within a fixed period of time can produce great inner clarity.
The psychological benefits of flow are so great, Csikszentmihaly states that they produce a powerful answer for parents that who might insist time is to valuable to 'waste' on play. Csikszentmihaly disparages parents who are too strict and too chaotic -- rules have value (88). This is also a reminder for a recreational director who might think that kids are under too much pressure nowadays and should just be allowed to have free time -- children appreciate direction, and benefit psychologically from having a sense of mastery. The mastery does not have to be over technical skills, although it can be, it merely need be taking one's self by surprise with the sensation of 'I didn't know I could do that,' or wonder at the beauty of nature.
The self-satisfaction and sense of empowerment derived from...
Quite the opposite, to create concentration, some difficulty must be involved, but the challenge must not be insurmountable, because that will only lead to discouragement, anxiety, or boredom. Thus, there are certain paradoxes to flow. Flow produces happiness of a long-sustaining variety, not the pleasures of the moment. It enriches one's sense self-empowerment, but it also enables one to let go of a focus on ego, that sense of 'am I good enough.'
Flow, mastery, and the joy of creation becomes its own reward, and people no longer fear failure as much. Thus, even without achieving their goal, a truly creative person can find satisfaction in a job well done, provided that he or she has learned something new. Even a game that is lost is a lesson, not just in good sportsmanship but in the challenges of personal achievement, and teamwork. Thus, creativity in all spheres of life teaches the individual important lessons in problem-solving and dealing with life's challenges. Leisure is not simply about aimless wandering, one must have a goal to really experience pleasure, but recreation should not feel like work -- rather, quality leisure 'flow' learning to find play and joy in effort.
Works Cited
Csikszentmihaly, Mihaly. (1991). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.
New York: Harper Perennial.
