Exquisite Moments - Achieving Optimal Flow in Three Activity-Based Groups Regardless of Early Childhood Diversity

Oct 15, 2026

Flow (optimal performance) emerges when individuals engage in activities they enjoy, with skills matching the challenge and a balance that supports control and freedom. The study discussed in this text examines healthy active individuals grouped by adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and finds links between adversity, emotion regulation difficulties, and coping strategies. Despite differences, all groups report high autotelic flow, suggesting psychological benefits and meaning drawn from preferred activities. Intrinsic motivation and immediate feedback sustain flow across domains such as sports, performing arts, and scientific work.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Flow and Optimal Performance

Conditions for Flow (skills, challenges, motivation)

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Group Differences

Emotion regulation and coping strategies

Autotelic Personality and Health Outcomes

Self-efficacy, well-being, and daily playfulness

Coping Orientations Under Stress

Task-oriented, emotion-oriented, avoidance-oriented

Exquisite Moments !CHIEVING /PTIMAL &LOW IN 4HREE!CTIVITY􀀍"ASED 'ROUPS 2EGARDLESS OF %ARLY􀀍\#HILDHOOD !DVERSITYs Paula Thomson S. Victoria Jaque Flow experiences (also known as optimal performance) occur when people engage in activities they enjoy. 􀂍e authors discuss such events in their study that examined a number of healthy, active individuals (performing artists, athletes, and others engaged in a range of recreational activities) and divided these into three groups based on adverse childhood experiences. 􀂍ey found that, although 􀂎owis higher among the individuals who experienced more adversity in childhood, this same group also had more di􀂏culty regulating emotions and more frequently employed emotion-oriented coping strategies under stress. 􀂍ey also discovered that, compared to the athletes and regularly active individuals, performing artists su􀂐ered signi􀂑cantly more adversity in childhood and engaged in more emotionaloriented coping strategies. All three groups, however, enjoyed high autotelic 􀂎ow experiences, which—so the authors suggest—indicates that the subjects derived meaning from their preferred activities. Overall, the authors claim, their study’s 􀂑ndings reinforce the psychological bene􀂑ts of 􀂎ow-based experiences. Keywords: adverse childhood experiences (ACE), coping strategies, dispositional 􀂎ow, 􀂎ow experiences and athletes, 􀂎ow experiences and dancers, regulation of emotions Participating in enjoyable activities can help achieve the kind of optimal performance Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (1990) calls 􀁿ow. Flow refers to a state of focused absorption in a pleasurable activity. Action and awareness merge, and the perception of time expands or compresses (Chavez 2008; Harmison 2006; Kirchner, Bloom, and Skutnick-Henley 2008) . Regardless of whether an individual is a beginner or an elite performer, the possibility of achieving 􀂎ow occurs when acquired skills match the challenge of an activity. 􀂍e balance between skills and challenges creates both an internal sense of control and a simultaneous feeling of freedom. Csikszentmihalyi suggests that intrinsic motivation augments 345 American Journal of Play, volume 8, number 3 © 􀂍e Strong Contact Paula 􀂍omson at paula.thomson@csun.edu 􀂎ow. Winning competitions and receiving money, all external motivators, do not promote 􀂎ow. Regardless of the di􀂏culty, risk, or pain, intrinsically motivated individuals eagerly seek challenges in athletics, performing arts, and scienti􀂑c investigation. 􀂍ey crave the engagement. Individuals who achieve 􀂎ow report receiving immediate and unambiguous feedback from the environment and from their internal perceptions as they encounter it. 􀂍is feedback reinforces their goals. For example, dancers modulate their motor patterns to complete multiple rotations during a pirouette, and variables such as slippery or sticky 􀂎oors in􀂎uence how they perform such turns. Athletes and performing artists employ high levels of concentration to execute their complicated feats so self-conscious distractions do not compromise their performances (Csikszentmihalyi 1990). Individuals can experience 􀂎ow anytime, whether working on a career or playing a game. Surgeons working in operating rooms and rock climbers scaling mountains frequently achieve 􀂎ow states. Anxiety and self-doubt disappear during these 􀂎ow moments (de Manzano et. al. 2010; Harmison 2006) . 􀂍e nature of 􀂎ow involves positive perceptions of the self as competent, the body as adept, time as su􀂏cient, and the world as inviting (Harmison 2006) . According to Csikszentmihalyi (1990), an individual who regularly transforms potential threats into enjoyable 􀂎ow experiences possesses a personality that readily adapts to stressful conditions. He describes these individuals as autotelic. Derived from the Greek word “auto” meaning self and “telos” meaning goal or end, these autotelic individuals stay engaged in the hardships they experience. 􀂍ey actively seek to overcome hardships, even

FAQs

What conditions help people achieve flow experiences?

Flow occurs when acquired skills match the challenge of an activity, creating a balance that supports a sense of control and freedom. Intrinsic motivation and focused absorption also support sustained flow.

How do adverse childhood experiences relate to flow and coping strategies?

The study links higher childhood adversity to greater difficulty regulating emotions and more frequent use of emotion-oriented coping under stress. Even so, all three groups report high autotelic flow experiences, indicating meaning derived from preferred activities.

Why are intrinsic motivators important for flow?

Intrinsic motivation promotes eagerness to seek challenges despite difficulty, risk, or pain. External motivators like winning and money are described as not promoting flow.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by supergirl