Why you should go with the flow

The secret to happiness is all about being "in the zone".

Panic over the minutiae of life is my specialty. I can turn the most unassuming molehill into a mountain. It's a special gift (if only there were a sarcastic font for comments like that).

One standard Saturday afternoon, I was stressing myself out while preparing dinner for a few of my friends; my mind churned with inconsequential worries.

I had chosen a fairly ambitious recipe, which meant there was going to be a lot of chopping ahead of me. (Let it be known that I have great technique and can get through piles of produce at a moderate-to-high speed.)

However, during this particular food prep session, I noticed myself falling into a kind of happy hypnosis. I was completely focused on dicing — no imagined "What if?" scenarios poking sticks into my mental bicycle spokes.

I resolved that I must do more chopping. And the next day, a study from Harvard Health (health.harvard.edu) arrived in my inbox explaining why.

Flow Power

We humans believe that certain things will make us happy. Winning millions in the lottery is a common one (fleet of solid gold helicopters, here we come!). Owning a body that'd make Miranda Kerr look like a troll is another. But it turns out that joy is actually a lot easier to come by than extravagant material wealth or physical perfection.

The secret to happiness, according to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, professor of psychology at Claremont Graduate University in California is "flow experiences". The phrase "going with the flow" probably conjures up images of robeclad, drugged-out hippies chanting and performing interpretive dance (blame the wild 1960s literature you read at uni). But, by contrast, Csikszentmihalyi defines a flow experience as "achieving a state of intense absorption in which you lose awareness of time".

No recreational substances required. They occur when you strike the right balance between challenge and skill; if the task is too difficult, anxiety creeps in. If your skill level exceeds the challenge, boredom appears. Swimming, running, dancing, painting, cooking, playing music, driving and playing games (anything from Sudoku to Ultimate Frisbee) are all common activities that put people in "flow", whether they realise it or not.

Like Meditation

People who have frequent flow experiences are much happier and healthier, according to Csikszentmihalyi's research. "Flow states stop rumination," says Dr Sarah Edelman, clinical psychologist and author of Change Your Thinking (ABC Books, $32.99). "Normally, your brain flits from thought to thought, and if you're anxious or in a low mood, the vast majority of those thoughts will be negative."

She explains that emotions are physical — stress, anger and frustration manifest as back pain, headaches, nausea, fatigue, insomnia and teeth grinding. "Getting into a flow state breaks up negative thought patterns. You're completely focused on the task at hand, totally present in the moment and enjoying yourself. It's like meditation."

This is great news for people who find it hard to do traditional meditation. If you're one of the many who sit in the yoga studio making mental "to-do" lists instead of focusing on your breathing, try replacing seated meditation with an active flow state — it could be anything from jogging to a pottery class.

In The Zone

You probably already know the things that put you "in flow", but if you're not sure, there are some common factors to all flow experiences. Firstly, you lose awareness of time and stop thinking about yourself — gone are concerns about how others might perceive you.

Mental chatter comes to a halt, so you're not distracted thinking about what to cook for dinner or what to wear to work tomorrow. You'll have control over what you're doing (flow states are active, not passive) and find it rewarding, irrespective of whether you're climbing a mountain or icing a cake. And while you might be working hard, you'll experience what athletes call "being in the zone", where everything just clicks and feels easy. Needless to say, if you find yourself inflow, you'll want to repeat the moment.

"It's useful to be aware of when we're in flow," says Edelman. "Most of the time,we're not. It's a special state that's very meaningful and uplifting." To be happier, healthier and more energetic, we need to start valuing these experiences.

While you can't force a flow state, you can identify the activities that make you feel this way, and create room for them in your life. A jog in the morning or some guitar strumming before bed might be all it takes to boost your inner contentment level. That or some rigorous mid-afternoon vegie chopping.

Short cuts to smiling