City life
The City. The city can feel boxed in and stifling. The shapes of square buildings have the perception of stress and boredom. Despite increases in the standard of living while people move to cities, people aren’t getting any happier. Suicide rates often hover around the same level for many OECD countries.
Escape
When boredom and stress take over, due to life’s disappointments, people often look for anything to numb the pain. One of the heathier ways for me to escape was, getting outdoors. When one gets into a forest, or near mountains the lines aren’t so straight. The trails aren’t so predictable. The colours are refreshing. I can find new labels and perceptions that are relaxing and nourishing. The boredom and stress melts away as I go…hunting for Flow.
Stress and Boredom
I’ve had my highs and my lows in my escapes. Sometimes stress and boredom can’t be avoided, even on vacation. Imagine being lost with non-existent compass skills in Saskatchewan, in Grasslands National Park. Imagine being exhausted near death on tight switchbacks, in Waterton National Park. Note to self: stay away from National Parks!
The lowest point was near Bozeman in Montana. I needed rest after hiking in Yellowstone. I was advised by a bed and breakfast host to go to a relaxing spot he knew of, with a river and a forest. It sounded serene.
When I arrived, all I found was a forested hill with a twisty gravel road. I saw the river, which was more like a creek, and a dull picnic area. The only other people that were there, were a couple gazing blankly into the unremarkable creek. I thought “this mustn’t be it.” I kept driving on this gravel road for an hour only to find myself back at the entrance again. Nothing but boredom. Why is it that some experiences are absorbing and others are a missed opportunity?
The Flow Channel
If nature isn’t always the answer, then how do these enjoyable experiences happen? It took me more trips to find out. I remember reading Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book, Flow, while I was hiking the Panum Crater in California…
It started off on a comfortable sandy trail from the parking lot up to the ring of the dormant volcano. There are very few trails in the crater, but endless opportunities for scrambling on the lichen covered lava rocks.
What was interesting was that even if some rocks gave way under my feet, they didn’t sink too far. It wasn’t too challenging or too easy. It was exhilarating, and at the same time relaxing. My mind couldn’t wander as I concentrated on my balance, and I wasn’t fearful because I always could find a foothold.
At the top I got to see the rim of the crater all around me. At the end of the hike, it was like on purpose as I stepped off the hard lava rocks, to find the comfortable sandy trail, allowing my feet to rest. I had the Boards of Canada track, Tears from a compound eye, creating a poignant bond between me and the landscape. The time melted, and I felt a sense of gratitude for the beautiful afternoon.
Flow in 7 steps
Mihay studied bored people in line jobs, musical conductors, and people engaged in recreational activities. He found the same universal experience, where time seems to melt away and self-preoccupation diminishes, leading to a blissful experience. This is when challenges of an activity match your skillset. To optimize your experience, you have to increase your skills when the challenges are too hard, or increase the challenges if they are too easy.
To break it down further one can look at what is happening when you are in flow. You are…
- Knowing what to do – Not knowing what to do is anxiety or boredom.
- Knowing how to do it – Not knowing how to do something is anxiety.
- Knowing how well you are doing – Uncertainty can lead to either boredom or anxiety depending on whether your situation is dangerous or safe.
- Knowing where to go – Not knowing where to go is anxiety.
- High perceived challenges – Preventing boredom.
- High perceived skills – Preventing anxiety.
- Freedom from distractions – This provides opportunities for greater concentration.
Free Solo 360: https://youtu.be/FRGF77fBAeM
One has to direct concentration to an object and look at whether there’s something interesting about it, then chain this interest to something related in the environment that is also interesting. Once it’s understood the novelty wears off and it’s easy to drop into boredom again.
What is interest?
The brain needs novelty, vividness, complexity, and surprising qualities. The brain also needs to understand what it’s processing, requiring basic skills first. Current knowledge that brings interest will be a foundation for further knowledge making the interest self-propelling. Nobody has tell you to be interested in rock climbing.
One has to be careful and stay in the present moment. Constantly thinking “when I’m I going to get to the top of this cliff?” will be more stressful than concentrating and grabbing another handhold and then another and then another.
Since people often bump into Flow experiences by accident, to actually know how to get into them creates a new way of thinking of happiness for me. It’s engagement.
The return home
When I returned to the city, a weight was lifted. With less boredom and stress, I didn’t feel the need to escape so much. The city is more interesting now, because I now know what to look for anywhere in my life.
Boards of Canada – Tears from a compound eye https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDXAAmPtntY
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780061339202/
Running Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Phillip Latter: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9781492535720/
What makes something interesting? – Ben Casnocha http://casnocha.com/2010/04/what-makes-something-interesting.html
Crafting Fun Experiences: A Method to Facilitate Flow — A Conversation with Owen Schaffer
Brian Halweil and Lisa Mastny (project directors), State of the World 2004: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society, Linda Starke, Editor (N.Y., W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2004), Figure 8-1, p 166
Quick Tips: https://psychreviews.org/category/quicktips/