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Escape room

Fundamentals of flow theory

Escape game is the shortest way to a flow experience. Flow is a functional state of the brain that occurs when someone is completely bound by what he is doing. In this case, the organization mobilizes its reserves of spiritual energy, which contributes not only to success but also to a sense of happiness.
2024.07.14.

Escape game is the shortest way to a flow experience. Flow is a functional state of the brain that occurs when someone is completely bound by what he is doing. In this case, the organization mobilizes its reserves of spiritual energy, which contributes not only to success but also to a sense of happiness.

 

"The basis of the perfect experience is the flow, that is, the phenomenon when we dissolve in an activity so much that everything else diminish. The experience itself becomes so enjoyable that we want to continue the activity at any cost, just for ourselves." says professor psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the father of flow theory.

 

Road to happiness

 

According to the anecdote, like every elementary school student, once his teacher asked John Lennon, what he wanted to be. Happy! The answer came. The teacher paused for a moment, and then fixed the kid, saying he misinterpreted the question. People misinterpret life. Came the striking response from little John again.

 

The story, true or not, is certain that the goal of human life must ultimately be happiness.

 

The legendary Brazilian soccer player, Pelé, described the feeling of happiness he felt in his best days:

 

“I felt a strange calm like I hadn’t experienced in any other game before. It was a kind of euphoria. I felt like I could run all day without getting tired of being able to trick any team, or even all of them, to physically penetrate them. I felt invulnerable. ”

 

Probably no two people would give the answer to the same question, what is happiness? Accordingly, we should search for it elsewhere. What is similar to everyone, however, is the path to be taken toward happiness.

 

“Success is the path that leads to success. On the contrary, happiness is the key to success. If you love what you do, you will be happy. ” That is what Albert Schweitzer has already said. Moreover, this is very similar to what flow theory is about.

Flow theory

Flow examines the phenomenon of intense happiness. Based on the research of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, it became a recognized field of psychology. The theory describes the phenomenon in which a person loses his or her sense of space and time. Completely dive in an activity that is both enjoyable and challenging for him or her, and this results in happy feeling.

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the founder of flow theory

 

Mihály Csíkeszentmihályi, of Hungarian descent, was born in 1934 in Rijeka, then part of Italy. The family moved from here to Venice and then to Rome, and Csíkszentmihályi later went to the University of Chicago to study psychology.

 

Csíkszentmihályi's dream was to have full understanding of life. In his work, he discovered an interesting area. He observed that painters behave as if they had fallen into a trance when creating their paintings; they are so captivated by the experience of creation that they forget the real world. He sought the same feeling, later defined as flow, in other areas and published on the subject with scientific depth. His research helped him to receive university professorship, but it took a long time to succeed.

Csíkszentmihályi was almost 60 years old when he was caught up in success and his work was duly recognized. His book on flow was published in 1990 and slowly but surely gained great popularity.

 

The flow and happiness

Csíkszentmihályi first described the flow experience with scientific accuracy in 1975.

According to Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, how one's destiny develops depends on many factors: genes, culture and one's own experiences. What is crucial, however, is what we do with our opportunities, how we take advantage of them. The most important thing in life is to find what is pleasing and in which we can be fulfilled: be it sports, art or science, or whatever. The point is that we feel good about it and move society, humanity forward. Let us find out what happiness is for us, thereby realizing what the meaning of life is.

Flow experience in escape games

One of the most important conditions for experiencing flow is that one surrenders oneself in full concentration to what one is doing. This requires challenges that are different from our routine tasks. And the captivating world of escape rooms and challenging puzzles serve just that purpose. So take a look at us if you want to experience what it’s like to be caught in the flow of happiness - the flow!

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