Psychologist Writes About "The Zone"

[freddy the beard]

I just got it myself

Bump and update:

I've been reading "Flow" for the past several days and it's excellent. It's about the more general topic of how to achieve "optimal experience" in life, not just about getting into "the zone" in sports, although that's very closely related.

It reminds me a lot of "Pleasures of Small Motions" in its emphasis on self-fulfilling activity (doing things for their own sake rather than to achieve a separate goal - like playing pool because you love the activity rather than because you want to make money).

I recommend it, and will post a review when I've finished reading it.

pj
chgo

Got it and it looks good.

the Beard

 

[dmgwalsh]

I recently ran across the name of a well known psychologist who writes about something he calls "Flow", which sounds to me like a more general name for what we in pool (and other sports) call "The Zone". His name is Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (sounds like spitting out bugs), and his best known book on the subject is called "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience", which can be found here at Amazon. You can also read about the author, his books and ideas, in this Wikipedia article.

Has anybody read this guy, or even heard of him? Know what his books are like?

Thanks,

pj
chgo

Edit - From the Wikipedia article: "Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields."

Thanks for the lead. I just bought it. I guess I'll try anything.

 

[JoeW]

Thanks for the lead. I just bought it. I guess I'll try anything.

If you are serious about improvement here are a couple of leads

http://www.aaasponline.org/resource-center/athletes

http://www.athleticinsight.com/

http://www.psychwatch.com/sport_psychology.htm

Look into the use of visualization, hypnosis, and training methods.

 

[q stick]

If you are serious about improvement here are a couple of leads

http://www.aaasponline.org/resource-center/athletes

http://www.athleticinsight.com/

http://www.psychwatch.com/sport_psychology.htm

Look into the use of visualization, hypnosis, and training methods.

This post was great thanks for adding to it
tony

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Review of the book "Flow"

I have to admit I'm a little disappointed with "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" - not because it's a bad book, but because it isn't really about what I hoped it was about. Nonetheless, I'm glad I bought it for what it does offer.

I hoped it would give guidance about how to reach and stay in "the zone", but it doesn't ever reach that specific goal. Instead it describes and gives guidance about how to reach a more general, less intensely focused state called "optimal experience" that's more about how to live a happy and fulfilled life in general than about how to reach the laser-like focus of the zone on demand.

However, "optimal experience" does seem to be related to "zone experience", and may well be a necessary intermediate step or state on the way to reaching the zone. "Flow" is certainly a well-written and well-researched book by an acclaimed expert in his field, so if you can make the connection between its more general advice and your quest for the zone (or if you're just interested in improving your life experience), it will be more than worth the small price for you.

I'll add a post later describing the main features of "optimal experience", which seem to be closely related to the features of "zone experience".

pj
chgo

 

[Carl]

I have to admit I'm a little disappointed with "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" - not because it's a bad book, but because it isn't really about what I hoped it was about. Nonetheless, I'm glad I bought it for what it does offer.

I hoped it would give guidance about how to reach and stay in "the zone", but it doesn't ever reach that specific goal. Instead it describes and gives guidance about how to reach a more general, less intensely focused state called "optimal experience" that's more about how to live a happy and fulfilled life in general than about how to reach the laser-like focus of the zone on demand.

However, "optimal experience" does seem to be related to "zone experience", and may well be a necessary intermediate step or state on the way to reaching the zone. "Flow" is certainly a well-written and well-researched book by an acclaimed expert in his field, so if you can make the connection between its more general advice and your quest for the zone (or if you're just interested in improving your life experience), it will be more than worth the small price for you.

I'll add a post later describing the main features of "optimal experience", which seem to be closely related to the features of "zone experience".

pj
chgo

I had the same reaction. I read "Flow" several years ago, hoping it would provide a recipe for getting in and staying in the Zone. The Zone is a species of Flow, easier to describe because we've all had that experience at one time or another, especially in sports. Flow can be found in all manner of activities in which we lose ourselves and become totally focused.

This book is a description of Flow, not a prescription for how to get there. It is interesting (although repetitive). Won't do much for your pool game.