Flow from a psychological perspective, is understood as a “mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity”, otherwise known as “being in the zone”. Many regard flow as a key to achieving happiness in work and life. If you aren’t immersed in the activities of your life, it can be hard to feel “alive”. Yet we find that most people are disengaged from their work throughout the world. It is not very uncommon to find that people rarely achieve “flow” in their work.
Consequentially, if you were able to achieve flow in your daily activities, it would very likely lead to greater productivity, results and feelings of well-being. Because flow would be desirable to achieve within our work (where most of our time goes), the next question would be, how can we achieve it?
From a cognitive functions perspective, we can theoretically argue that achieving flow will be a matter of exercising your top cognitive functions. Because our top cognitive functions are where our highest latent talent lies, we have an easier time using and developing those functions. Inversely, excessive use of our inferior functions can cause energy to drain faster, increase stress and lead to feelings of dissatisfaction.
As an example, it can be easy to see why ESTPs are reputed to dislike and perform poorly in school, on average, even if they tend to be bright. An ESTPs top cognitive functions are Extroverted Sensing (Se) and Introverted Thinking (Ti). The combination of Se-Ti is a ‘learn by doing’ loop. Through exposure to information from the physical world, Ti gathers internal principals of how things work. However, in a typical school environment, information is thrown at the student through lecture format. Not much is done to stimulate the Se as much.
(As a side note, you will find that this theory of cognitive functions also demonstrates weaknesses within learning curriculums. It could be argued that each student should have completely different curriculums based on type. A generic lecture-style form of teaching, while efficient for scalability purposes, is clearly not optimized for each individual student.)
On the opposite end, when an ESTP is exposed to learn-as-you-go environment such as start-ups or playing sports, they can shine brilliantly. The same principal of Se-Ti loops works in their favor to help them succeed in these environments. It’s not surprising to see that many ESTPs (along with ISTPs) frequently report sports activities as one of their main interests because it exercises their top functions.
Accordingly, within people’s work lives, many people are prone to reporting dissatisfaction. Potential solutions include identifying which lines of work will allow you to exercise and improve your top functions while providing you with a sense of purpose and autonomy (this also falls under the theory of how to make work meaningful. The advantage of understanding cognitive functions is that we now have a framework for selecting which types of work would engage us most effectively.
Thanks for reading and please share any thoughts!
by
Tags:
Comments
16 responses to ““Flow” and Cognitive Functions”
-
drhmm5
-
q639r0
-
Elevate Learning Adventures with The Story Shack!
A library of 200+ high-quality books tailored to the school curriculum.
StoryShack’s Build a Book bundle features word searches, quizzes, creative coloring pages, high-quality images, and top SEO keywords.
StoryShack’s StoryCraft Pro bundle includes the “Melody Minds Library” with 350+ music tracks and “AnimateMasters Pro,” offering 30+ categories of animations.
And as if that’s not enough, here are the MEGA BONUSES:✔ 100+ Mega Mazes Pack
✔ 100+ Sudoku Elements Pack
✔ 100+ Comic Book Template Pack
✔ 100+ Handwriting Practice Template Pack
✔ 100+ Kids Story Book Templates
✔ Canva Book Templates
✔ Additional beautiful content like journal prompts
✔ INCLUDED: The Ultimate WorkbookClick https://ext-opp.com/StoryShack to explore The Story Shack e-Learning Collection and seize the opportunity for multiplied income!
-
Elevate Learning Adventures with The Story Shack!
A library of 200+ high-quality books tailored to the school curriculum.
StoryShack’s Build a Book bundle features word searches, quizzes, creative coloring pages, high-quality images, and top SEO keywords.
StoryShack’s StoryCraft Pro bundle includes the “Melody Minds Library” with 350+ music tracks and “AnimateMasters Pro,” offering 30+ categories of animations.
And as if that’s not enough, here are the MEGA BONUSES:✔ 100+ Mega Mazes Pack
✔ 100+ Sudoku Elements Pack
✔ 100+ Comic Book Template Pack
✔ 100+ Handwriting Practice Template Pack
✔ 100+ Kids Story Book Templates
✔ Canva Book Templates
✔ Additional beautiful content like journal prompts
✔ INCLUDED: The Ultimate WorkbookClick https://ext-opp.com/StoryShack to explore The Story Shack e-Learning Collection and seize the opportunity for multiplied income!
-
Millions of Free Traffic with AI Tools – https://ext-opp.com/AIVault
-
Millions of Free Traffic with AI Tools – https://ext-opp.com/AIVault
-
Millions of Free Traffic with AI Tools – https://ext-opp.com/AIVault
-
After Generating Millions Online, I’ve Created A Foolproof Money Making System, & For a Limited Time You Get It For FREE… https://ext-opp.com/RPM
-
After Generating Millions Online, I’ve Created A Foolproof Money Making System, & For a Limited Time You Get It For FREE… https://ext-opp.com/RPM
-
An Ultimate Web-Hosting Solution For Business Owners https://ext-opp.com/HostsMaster
-
An Ultimate Web-Hosting Solution For Business Owners https://ext-opp.com/HostsMaster
-
MobiApp AI – True Android & iOS Mobile Apps Builder (Zero Coding Required) https://ext-opp.com/MobiAppAI
-
MobiApp AI – True Android & iOS Mobile Apps Builder (Zero Coding Required) https://ext-opp.com/MobiAppAI
-
MobiApp AI – True Android & iOS Mobile Apps Builder (Zero Coding Required) https://ext-opp.com/MobiAppAI
-
Word’s First NLP & ML Based Email, Voice & Video Marketing Autoresponder Thats Boost Email Delivery, Click & Open Rates Instantly https://ext-opp.com/VidMailsAI
-
Word’s First NLP & ML Based Email, Voice & Video Marketing Autoresponder Thats Boost Email Delivery, Click & Open Rates Instantly https://ext-opp.com/VidMailsAI
Leave a Reply