Flow: An Optimal Experience

When I read the article, it reminded me of my college professor who talked about the hierarchy of needs by Abraham Maslow. She said that each of us will never be satisfied unless we achieved "self-actualization". That is why we always have inner drives to do something to reach our goals. On the other hand, this is not a guarantee that the person felt "intrinsically rewarding" as mentioned by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

Some games have the presence of optimal experience - the "flow". The features of some games that lend them to inducing flow is the experience itself. Games serve as the "opportunity for action that humans are able to respond to." This statement of Csikszentmihalyi drives players to pay attention. Let us take for instance video games. There are rules that they need to follow. There are tasks that they need to respond. They are levels that they need to accomplish from time to time until they conquer all the tasks. This is where addiction (addiction to game) comes in. The levels of the game "drives the self to higher and higher levels of complexity." Towards the end, there is a feeling of ownership that leads to "a feeling of transcendence, or oneness with the activity" (Csikszentmihalyi).

I love to play chess. This is the game where I consider experiencing "flow". When I started, I was confused. Each character has its own distinct moves that I need to master. When I mastered them, I need to learn some wise moves in order to outwit the opponent. It takes time to think and to make a game plan. Even I was frustrated, I never gave up. I kept on playing and playing until I learned. I was addicted to it until I felt being one with the game. It is like putting one's mind, heart and soul into it. Some people say it's boring, but I eventually fall in love in playing chess. It is like in the educational setting. There is always this challenge of making students be intrinsically motivated (be addicted) to learning by saying, "I am here because I want to learn," (in a way that students will not be reminded from time to time of their homework or project because they feel that they are responsible of their own progress). On the other hand, it is also important to explain to the students the purpose of attaining education to have a clear vision why they are doing this. This will hopefully help them to set their own goals.

I would say that flow is not antithetical to traditional learning. This is just to heighten their motivation that learning is not only for the grades. The most important thing is they gained something from the content of the course. Grades are good to impress employers, but the skills are also necessary. For instance, an architect needs to design a building. He has impressive records, but he does not know how to deal with his colleagues. He could never achieved his goal without the help of others (carpenters, suppliers, etc.). Thus, "flow" is a way of learning not only with the technicalities but also for skills - motivating oneself to consider all aspects that leads to happiness and satisfaction.