Louis L'Amour

Turn the Tap: Action Unlocks Creative Flow

In turn, the coveted state of immersion typically follows initiation. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow (1990) shows that clear goals and immediate feedback foster deep focus; both are hard to achieve before we begin. Once we put down a sentence, the next one provides feedback, and micro-goals appear. What starts as a reluctant drip becomes a steady stream, then a river, as attention narrows and challenge matches skill. [...]