Again and again, he found that people reported some of their most positive experiences not during passive rest, but when they were absorbed in something demanding enough to stretch them and structured enough to let them respond. Challenge sitting a hair above skill. Goals clear. Feedback immediate. The self, for the duration, mostly out of the way.
In his own words: “The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” (Flow, 1990, p. 3)
