What Moves Us

Flow blossoms when our skills are fully engaged and then stretches us in new and challenging ways. The challenge absorbs us so much we lose ourselves in our work, become so totally concentrated we may feel "out of time." In this state we seem to handle everything effortlessly, nimbly adapting to shifting demands. Flow itself is a pleasure.

 

Flow is the ultimate motivator. Activities we love draw us in because we get into flow as we prusue them. When we work in flow, the motivation is built in- work is a delight in itself.

 

Most rewarding was the creative challenge and stimulation of the work itself, and the change to keep learning. The next three sources of reward: pride in getting things done, work fridendships, and helping or teaching people on the job.

 

Traditional incentives miss the point when it comes to getting people to perform at their absolute best. To reach the top rung, people must love what they do and find pleasure in doing it.

 

Flow poses a neural paradox: we can be engaged in an exceptionally demanding task, and yet our brain is operating with a minimal level of activity or expenditure of energy. The reason seems to be that when we are bored and apathetic, or frenzied with anxiety, our brain activity is diffused; the brain itself is at a high level of activation, albeit poorly focused, with brain cells firing in far-flung and irrelevant ways. But during flow, the brain appears efficient and precise in tis pattern of firing. the result is an overall lowering of cortical arousal-even though the person may be engaged in an extremely challenging task.

 

And work is the main arena in life that gives people the chance for flow. For top performers, there is an especially tight calibration of flow and task; flow occurs in the work taht is most critical to their goals and productivity, rather than in fascinating diversions or irrelevancies. For the stars, excellence and pleasure in work are one and the same.

 

Getting better and better

"I enjoy the fact that in the position I'm in, I'm continuously learning new things. It's contnuous stimulation. I have to keep on my toes because things are always changing. You have to keep up."

 

continual motivation (enjoying flow) to master new challenges.

When a job lacks flow, even success can bring a curious malaise: what was once exciting can become boring. When a job has been mastered, the danger of stagnation rises sharply. That may explain why midlife is a notorious time for career changes.

 

 You get restless in midlife and midcareer, and that restlessness can have huge repercussions for your career. You start answering calls from headhunters even though you don't really want a new job. You start devoting your time and attention to a samll business you start on the side. Or you get irritable and grouchy, or start collecting something like sports cars, or have affairs.

 

A main cause of such boredom is that people are no longer finding a challenge to their abilities: their work , so familiar and easy, has gone stale. A healthy response might be to take on a new, challenging project within the company, because you need to find a way to keep yourself engaged in your work.