How to Coach Yourself and Others Essential Knowledge For Coaching | Page 90

Bruce Lee also spoke of a psychological state similar to flow in
his book the Tao of Jeet Kune Do.
Mechanism of flow
In every given moment, there is a great deal of information made
available to each individual. Psychologists have found that one's
mind can attend to only a certain amount of information at a
time. According to Miller's 1956 study, that number is about 126
bits of information per second. That may seem like a large
number (and a lot of information), but simple daily tasks take
quite a lot of information. Just having a conversation takes about
40 bits of information per second; that's 1/3 of one's capacity.
That is why when one is having a conversation he or she cannot
focus as much of his or her attention on other things.
For the most part (except for basic bodily feelings like hunger
and pain, which are innate), people are able to decide what they
want to focus their attention on. However, when one is in the
flow state, he or she is completely engrossed with the one task at
hand and, without making the conscious decision to do so, loses
awareness of all other things: time, people, distractions, and
even basic bodily needs. This occurs because all of the attention
of the person in the flow state is on the task at hand; there is no
more attention to be allocated.
One cannot force oneself to enter flow. It just happens. A flow
state can be entered while performing any activity, although it is
most likely to occur when one is wholeheartedly performing a
task or activity for intrinsic purposes.
Mental state in terms of challenge level and skill level, according
to Csikszentmihalyi.

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