“Flow happens when what we feel, what we wish, and what we think are in harmony.”
-Mihály Csíkszentmihály
Flow is an optimal state of functioning first introduced by Mihály Csíkszentmihály.
While he was interviewing athletes and various professionals for his studies on happiness and the meaning of life, he noticed similarities in what people described as "performing and feeling at their best".
These special moments were incredibly rewarding for them and commonly known as "being in the zone", "a state in which everything clicks" or "it just comes together".
In climbing, flow isn’t just about a climb feeling “smooth” or “fluid.”
It’s the subjective experience that can happen, e.g.:
- during a playful or dialed-in warm-up
- when fully immersed in projecting, repeating moves almost automatically
- in the final seconds of a competition round, committing instinctively to the top
- or while sending your hardest route, moving with effortless precision.
Flow isn't just reserved for the elite—it's something that anyone can and likely has experienced! We pay to watch people in flow, whether at a theatre, concert, or sports event. Flow fuels our motivation and performance while increasing our well-being and reducing stress.
The effects are not only immediate but also long-lasting—hours to days after experiencing flow.
I’m here to share my passion and knowledge of flow with climbers and driven professionals who want to push their limits and experience more of those moments where everything clicks.
Come work with me as your coach!
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Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience."
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). "Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life."
Delle Fave, A., et al. (2011). "Psychological Well-Being in Different Contexts: A Study on Flow."
Kotler, S. (2014). "The rise of superman: decoding the science of ultimate human performance."
| Background Photo by Nathan Ziemanski on Unsplash.