Do you want to have control over your willpower, mood and attention? Do you want to control your inner self? Do you want to achieve great things in life? Integrating flow into your life will help you do just that! 

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s (that’s pronounced: MEE-hy CHEEK-sent-mee-HAH-yee) Flow talks about how flow can restructure your life. It can transform your daily life, making it not just about self-repeating episodes of work, leisure and social visits, but about meaningful experiences that enrich your existence. Flow experiences can help you grow as a person, becoming more complex and capable. 

But what exactly is this flow? It's that state where you're so absorbed in an activity that the world around you seems to disappear. Think of a rock climber who says, "All I can remember is the last thirty seconds, and all I can think ahead is the next five minutes." That's flow in action.

Entering a flow state during challenging periods as well as everyday situations will truly change your life. So, let the following key ideas show you exactly how you can enter a state of flow.

So? Any guesses on what makes working enjoyable? We’ll give you a hint. Ever played chess? The overarching goal in chess is of course check-mate, but to get there you have to focus on taking your opponent’s pieces or on figuring out how to clear a particular space, right? You’re putting your mind and soul into figuring out your next move. And that is what makes all the difference: when you get engrossed with something, you enter… flow!!! When you’re in flow, that activity become enjoyable, which in turn means a happy you! Get it?

So, to enter a state of flow, you first need to have some clear goals and have a purpose for whatever you do. And you must have step-by-step goals instead of overarching ones. 

Now, some activities are more prone to flow than others. We find games enjoyable because when we are playing them, we automatically lose ourselves in the micro-objectives.  Real life, however, is different. Things are messy and dealing with the minutiae of life makes it harder to keep track of all our day-to-day goals. Which means, flow state might not come as easily. What then? 

To overcome this, the best thing you can do is set a goal for each activity you do. Not only will this integrate the activity into your life, but will also give it meaning in the process. Say you’re putting away laundry or doing the dishes. You can make each activity more enjoyable by coming up with “goals” that are just enough challenging for your skills. You could set a goal to fold your every shirt before the 30 second timer runs out.  Nothing like a good challenge to make activities less boring than they used to be! 

Another trick to get into flow is feedback. Results help keep us engaged. When a task’s feedback isn’t immediately apparent, we are less likely to enjoy it as it doesn’t provide us with a sense of learning or growth.  So, make sure you give yourself some feedback. A check-mark on your to-do list? A healthy snack? Anything that tells you “good job!” 

Now, there’s more to flow state than these two things. Let’s find out.

Unpopular opinion: Stress is a survival mechanism! Yes, that’s not how you usually see stress but if you really think about it, stress is what helps you cope with difficult times. But major stress? That can also cause psychic entropy. And that stops you from concentrating on one goal and entering a state of flow.

So how do we minimize extra stress? See, extra stress is almost always external. And luckily, there are a few ways how you can deal with those stressful external sources and limit the way they impact you. And there are three main resources we use to cope with stress:

• External support (like good insurance or a loving family)

• Psychological resources (such as intelligence or personality traits)

• Coping strategies

While all three are important, it's the third one - our coping strategies - that we have the most control over. There are two main coping strategies against psychic entropy. The positive response is called "mature defense" or "transformational coping." The negative response is known as "neurotic defense" or "regressive coping." Consider Jim, a fictional 40-year-old financial analyst who just lost his job. He could respond by sleeping late, avoiding the issue, or drowning his sorrows in a bottle - all examples of regressive coping. Alternatively, he could keep his cool, analyze the problem logically, and look for new opportunities - examples of transformational coping. Most of us don't exclusively use one strategy or the other. Jim might have a few drinks the night he's fired, argue with his wife, but then buckle down and start problem-solving the next day. It's a process, not a perfect science.

This ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge is arguably the most useful trait we can develop. And yes, it’s not easy, but almost everyone can improve his or her ability to do so. Some people are good at it naturally, while others...

Someone with an autotelic personality can transform even the most traumatic or impossible situation into something manageable. Developing such a personality also helps you enjoy the daily grind. And you know how family can help, right? But what can YOU do? What mindset do YOU need to adopt?

Well, it’s easy, just adopt the four habits that autotelic people swear by and weather all stressful situations without breaking a sweat. Firstly, you need to have the ability to set goals. Take the example of a CEO of a big financial company in the US. He had a purpose in mind for every single thing he did, whether it was entering a new room full of people or reading a book. Importantly, his reasons for doing so weren’t selfish. He genuinely wanted to get to know people and learn about their lives.

Secondly, to become an autotelic person, you need to learn how to pay attention. You need to be able to control what you give your attention to and what you focus on. And it has to be intentional. You don’t have to focus on something just because you have to, but because you want to. 

And once you’ve set a goal for yourself and controlled your focus, the third habit will kick in. This is the ability to immerse yourself in an activity and recognise its worth. Immersion will help you pick up on the inherent feedback in the task and you will then be able to learn the more complex versions of the activity. This will allow you to participate in whatever happens around you and you’ll never feel excluded or left out. 

And lastly, when the first three traits are in place, you’ll genuinely be able to enjoy the immediate experience of an activity in itself which will in turn energize you. For instance, in the case of a social event, such a flow can translate into charisma. For a carpenter, it could be an inspiration to create a unique statue while for a scientist it could be a state of risk-taking creativity that may lead to a breakthrough of monumental proportions. 

Now! Let’s warp this up?

Okay, now you know almost everything there is to know about flow. One last thing you need to understand is its connection to life's meaning.

Flow doesn't automatically translate to a fulfilling life. The challenge, Csikszentmihalyi argues, is to transform our entire existence into a flow experience. How? By finding a unifying purpose that makes even difficulties meaningful. Take the story of a man interviewed in one of Csikszentmihalyi's studies whom he designates as E. E’s childhood bicycle accident could have left him bitter. Instead, it became the catalyst for a life dedicated to civil rights. E. didn't just overcome his trauma; he used it to create a "life theme" that gave every action purpose. 

But how can you develop such a powerful life theme? It's not about reinventing the wheel or having a perfectly happy childhood. In fact, many people with coherent life themes recall being read to as children. The magic of life theme is in drawing on the wisdom of the past. Not just yours, but of your culture, too – be it literature, art, or philosophy. For the science geeks out there, no, we’re not just asking you to rely on ancient poetry for life guidance! There’s science behind it. 

Evolution! Yes, that’s right! A life theme might seem like an abstract philosophical concept to you but, they actually have roots in our evolutionary biology and psychology. Our brains have evolved to seek meaning and create coherent narratives from our experiences, personal and collective. That means developing life themes is a product of our evolutionary history, helping us adapt and thrive in complex social environments. And for Csikszentmihalyi, the next stage of human development is learning to reunite with the world around us without losing our individuality. It's a call to move beyond mere self-interest and find meaning in our connection to the larger universe. Whether you find that purpose through ancient wisdom, scientific understanding, or personal reflection, the goal is to create a life where, as Csikszentmihalyi puts it, "actions and feelings will be in harmony, and the separate parts of life will fit together."