In the corona flow
Most conversations with acquaintances you haven't heard from for a long time start like this nowadays: So, how did you have it in lockdown? You hear the most incredible stories. One of them set his alarm clock an hour earlier to get at least 60 minutes of peace and quiet from his family. A friend reported how she threw all the rules out the window after two weeks and let her boys play Fortnite until they couldn't take any more and fell into a kind of waking coma. Others found a strange peace in the months and questioned their entire lives up to that point. All of them have reached their limits.
The answers from my friends can be roughly divided into two categories. Some start like this: Well, we almost still liked it ... The others like this: Well, we haven't filed for divorce yet, but ...
How is it that some people are experiencing the state of emergency in a rather positive way, while others have almost gone mad? Or are some just dishonest?
The question has been scientifically scrutinised: 5000 people who were in quarantine in China were asked about their well-being. The result: people who suffered less from the lockdown were not particularly optimistic. They also did not do any mindfulness exercises. No, the best protection against coronavirus collapse was employment. Those who were able to pursue a task in depth over a longer period of time, who were «in the flow», experienced the least stress.
How is it that some people are experiencing the state of emergency in a rather positive way, while others have almost gone mad? Or are some just dishonest?
The US psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi invented the term «flow» in 1961 to describe the state in which we feel happiness. He found that when you are «in flow», you feel a deep sense of satisfaction as well as a loss of time and self-awareness - you become absorbed in your activity. In interviews with over a thousand people, he found five common factors that all interviewees described when they spoke of «happiness»: Happiness, or just «flow», occurs when you
a) engages in an activity that one
b) determines yourself, which
c) neither underchallenges nor overchallenges you, which
d) has a clear goal and for which there is
e) provides immediate feedback.
Pursue an activity in depth? That you have determined yourself? These two sentences alone answer the questions as to why the coronavirus period with the family was hell. By their very nature, children are designed to deconstruct you and your self-determination. But, as Csíkszentmihályi also said, flow is a rarity in the family anyway. Children's brain structures are in search of input and stimulation - the opposite of a flow process.
The good news? Most people focus more on the negative in the present, but only remember the positive later.
Mikael Krogerus is an author and editor of «Magazin». The father of a daughter and a son lives with his family in Basel.
He now writes a column once a week on the topic of coronavirus.
More from Mikael Krogerus on the subject of corona:
- Kinder und Katzen sind die wahren Corona-Meister
Die einzigen zwei Dinge, die ich bislang in dieser *** Corona-Krise gelernt habe, habe ich von meinen Kindern gelernt. Und von meinen Katzen. - Deep Work? Mikael Krogerus übers Homeschooling
Für den heimischen Fernunterricht holt sich Mikael Krogerus Hilfe aus dem Silicon Valley. - Oben kalt, unten verbrannt
Mikael Krogerus überlegt, an was sich seine Familie erinnern wird nach dem Lockdown. Kleiner Tipp: Corona geht, wie die Liebe auch, irgendwie durch den Magen.
- Die Essneurosen meiner Familie, Teil 2
Mikael Krogerus schreibt über seine wilden Corona-Träume.
- Das Ende vom Anfang
Unser Kolumnist Mikael Krogerus sinniert über seine Grabinschrift und wer eigentlich die Gallionsfigur der aktuellen Krise sein könnte.
- Corona-Lockerungsübungen
Ist die erste Ruhe nach dem Corona-Sturm der erste Vorgeschmack auf die Pensionierung? Mikael Krogerus macht sich Gedanken über die neue Stille zuhause.