Flow in Sports: The keys to optimal experiences and performances

by Susan A. Jackson, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi

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The experience of flow is still one of the least understood phenomena in sport. And yet it is one of the richest, most memorable experiences an athlete will ever know.

Some call it a natural --high.-- Others refer to it as being --in a zone.-- Whatever it's called, flow is an elusive and very sought-after psychological state that athletes, coaches, and sport psychologists have tried to understand, harness, and employ to their benefit since Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi first coined the term back in the early 1970s.

Now, in the first book devoted exclusively to flow in sports, the pioneering legend Csikszentmihalyi and sport psychology researcher Susan Jackson attempt not only to explain the phenomenon but also to identify the key conditions associated with its occurrence.

The book begins with a description of what flow is and is not. Flow is defined as a person's total absorption into an activity. While it is always a peak, satisfying experience, it is not necessarily associated with peak performance on every occasion.

Most of the book delves deeply into the key factors leading up to and accompanying the flow experience. The authors also recommend certain actions on the part of the athlete or coach to optimize the conditions in training and performance that allow flow to occur. The book is full of vivid examples, captivating quotes, and revealing research findings that enhance the authors' clear and insightful text.

The sport setting is rife with opportunities to experience flow-be it in pick-up games or the Olympics. But until now, flow has been an infrequent, accidental, and even mysterious phenomenon to most athletes. With Flow in Sports, this optimal experience becomes both more familiar and more achievable. Get to know flow, and get into it. Find out what you've been missing.



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Genres: Sports, Psychology, Nonfiction, Recreation, Medicine, Medical, Education

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 1999

Reviews

[Thomas Santarossa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is great if you’re beginning to learn about flow,

I rate it 2 stars since I’ve read a few book now on flow already and this does no more than just describe areas in which flow is present.

I can see so many people reading this and getting nothing from it. It’s a lot of vague information on flow characteristics rather than guidelines to how one can direct flow towards their sport performance.

I know why the authors didn’t write guidelines but I think the book becomes much longer for no reason without those guidelines. I was constantly reading how they would explore topics in greater depth later on, to ultimately be left disappointed.

Especially since Mihaly has written so much on “Flow”, I thought this was disappointing.

The value you get from this book could probably be found in a 10 minute YouTube video

[Fitta Sari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5.
Review to come

[Ning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to the role of flow in sports. While there have been much more research that have emerged in the area since this book was published, it is nevertheless one of the classics that brings us back to the foundations of flow in sports. The book is also easy to read for those who are not familiar with the concept and there are little worksheets that you or anyone who plays a sport can utilise in their own self-reflection with their experience of flow.

[Michael Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the title relates to athletes can be related to any individual who has felt a mental high from an accomplishment. The text speaks specifically to and about athletes and goes to both how you gain flow and how fast one can lose it. I think it provides insight to both athletes and their coaches.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Challenge-skills balance
2. Action-awareness merging
3. Clear goals
4. Unambiguous feedback
5. Concentration on the task at hand
6. Sense of control
7. Loss of self-consciousness
8. Transformation of time
9. Autotelic experience

It’s not about winning it is about creating an optimal environment for optimal experiences

Competition can be good for getting to flow as it challenges you but when it shifts to ego you lose it

NEED WHAT DID I LEARN TODAY
FES - WILT EVERYDAY!!! It’s a discpline!

[Alex Doss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love the book! This is a concept that I am completely fascinated by so I'm a little biased but everyone should read this to understand the importance of challenge and what boredom is as well.

[Sarah S · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read a couple of chapters. Very repetitive, like the authors wrote an essay and expanded it into a book by repeating themselves and adding extraneous words.

[Adria Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Después de leer fluir, se queda algo corto. Misma teoría pero aplicado al deporte. Si lees el libro de "Fluir" ya leerás la gran mayoría de cosas que se comentan en este libro. Aún así, se hace ameno e interesante.

[Bailey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is very repetitive. I felt like I was reading the first chapter over and over and over again.