What does it mean for climbing to be ‘autotelic’?
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book “Finding Flow” explores the contents of daily life and makes a case for creating conditions for ‘flow’ experiences within our routines. According to Csikszentmihalyi, flow is “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).
The book takes the reader through an analysis of how most people spend most of their days, breaking down our activities into three major kinds of activities: productive activities (like work or studying), maintenance activities (such as housework, eating, and driving), and leisure activities (consuming media, participating in sports or hobbies, or just idling/resting). Csikszentmihalyi then breaks down these categories to look at how each one contributes to our ability to find flow, and as well as how each influences the quality of our lives as a whole.
It’d be the understatement of the year to say we live in a messy and chaotic world. Most peoples’ lives are governed by a set of obligations that seem to set boundaries for what else is possible. Since the day we’re born, we’ve been pushed and pulled into different expectations and societal rules. We’re taught that our actions have consequences, and these consequences can either benefit or harm us. Our lives are structured by a cacophony of social norms that have been largely predetermined for us, rather than chosen by us. The humdrum of the modern human experience leaves us feeling a certain kind of tired. It’s difficult to resist settling in to a muted existence, defined almost solely by societal standards, the expectations of others, and personal material gain.
In this landscape, activities that generate a state of flow can be elusive. However, it is precisely these types of activities that give life its meaning and worth. Climbing, at its core, is an autotelic activity—meaning it exists for its own purpose and not any other reason.
Our sport is extremely arbitrary. We take a large expanse of rock and select one very specific vertical path. We’re not even always trying to get to the top—just to wherever someone decided is the end of the route. And we will repeat this same path, over and over again, until we can do it without falling.
I get why people who don’t climb question our obsession.
But, if you are a climber, you know the type of freedom afforded by an autotelic pursuit is rare. Climbing is ours to define: the experience means the most when it is self-driven and self-actualized.
In “Finding Flow,” the author makes a connection between people who seek out autotelic activities, the ability to find the state of flow, and overall quality of life.
“A typical day is full of anxiety and boredom. Flow experiences provide the flashes of intense living against this dull background. When goals are clear, feedback relevant, and challenges and skills are in balance, attention becomes ordered and fully invested. Because of the total demand on psychic energy, a person in flow is completely focused. There is no space in consciousness for distracting thoughts, irrelevant feelings. Self-consciousness disappears, yet one feels stronger than usual. The sense of time is distorted: hours seem to pass by in minutes.
When a person’s entire being is stretched in the full functioning of body and mind, whatever one does becomes worth doing for its own sake; living becomes its own justification. In the harmonious focusing of physical and psychic energy, life finally comes into its own. It is the full involvement of flow, rather than happiness, that makes for an excellent life.”
(Csikszentmihalyi, 2008)
Some things are just worth doing for their own sake. There is a beauty in not having a concise answer to the question, “why climb?” When I get this question, my brain wanders to my most recent flow experience on a climb. I remember how alive I felt, how powerful, how confident. I remember placing my toe precisely on a minuscule limestone nub, and floating upwards as I exhaled deeply, laser-focused on reaching the jagged crimp above me. I remember how my mind felt completely clear, undistracted by the push and pull of daily life, lost in pure focus. I try to translate this feeling into words, but the words always fall flat in comparison to the experience.
Finding a state of flow in climbing has the power to enrich our lives deeply. Once we have unlocked this superpower in climbing, we’re more attuned to find autotelic space and focus outside of climbing, too. What we learn in climbing bleeds into everything we do, and we’re better off for it.
“The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times . . . The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile”
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).
Sources
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life. Basic Books, 2008.
Mike Oppland, BA. “8 Traits of Flow According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.” PositivePsychology.Com, 14 Sept. 2023, positivepsychology.com/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-father-of-flow/.
