Flow can happen anywhere, at any time, provided that the person's capacities and the opportunities for action in the environment are well matched. This optimal interaction is most typical of conditions when people voluntarily become involved in activities designed to be enjoyable, such as sports, games, spectacles, and artistic or religious performances. But one of the contributions of the flow concept has been to remind us that activity and experience are ultimately independent of each other. The most lavish entertainment can be boring, and the most routine job enjoyable. It is impossible to explain the quality of the experience by reference to the objective conditions of the environment, or by reference to the person alone; only the interaction between the two yields the answer.

The practical consequence of this perspective is to open up the possibility of improving the quality of experience in situations that previously were seen to be naturally boring or stressful, such as work or study. If it is true that in principle any activity can be made enjoyable, there is no excuse for resigning oneself to a boring life.

The chapters that follow show the enormous variety of conditions that can produce flow, from the ritual swarming of Japanese motorcycle gangs to the solitary ordeals of polar explorers. In each case, however, the experience becomes enjoyable only when personal skills and the challenges of the situation are in harmony, and when the other conditions of the flow experience – concentrated attention, clear goals, feedback, lack of distractions, and so on – are made possible.