Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was a pioneering psychologist known as the "father of flow." He created flow theory, which refers to a state of being in which people become so immersed in the joy of their work or activity that nothing else seems to matter. This concept was outlined in his seminal 1990 book "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" [harpercollins.com.
Csikszentmihalyi's work was focused on understanding optimal and positive experiences, and he founded the Quality of Life Research Center [cgu.edu, a nonprofit research institute that studies positive psychology. His research explored the concepts and causes of optimal and positive experiences, and he became intrigued by artists who would get lost in their work, becoming so immersed that they would disregard basic needs such as food, water, and sleep.
