{"id":563,"date":"2019-06-02T16:24:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-02T16:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greatideasgreatlife.com\/?p=563"},"modified":"2019-07-02T04:47:49","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T04:47:49","slug":"flow-the-psychology-of-optimal-experience-by-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greatideasgreatlife.com\/blog\/flow-the-psychology-of-optimal-experience-by-mihaly-csikszentmihalyi\/","title":{"rendered":"Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just stop trying, the author\u2019s surname is\nextremely hard to read (you can get close by saying: \u201cCheek sent me high\u201d). But\nthis didn\u2019t stop him from writing an extremely useful book. In \u201cFlow: The\nPsychology of Optimal Experience\u201d, there is a lot of information on how to\nreach that state when everything you do seems to flow naturally. Mihaly (phew,\nat least the author\u2019s name isn\u2019t that hard to pronounce) didn\u2019t just sit down a\nwrote a book- prior to writing his masterpiece, he gathered vast amounts of\nknowledge- he is, after all, a psychologist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would you like to understand the true\nmeaning of happiness? This is what it\u2019s all about, and everything Mihaly writes\nabout seems to be linked with finding happiness. There is one little thingy\nhere- you cannot actually find happiness. It can only be experienced in the\npresent moment, it\u2019s not an object- you cannot simply stumble upon heaps of\nhappiness that were hidden somewhere. You have to work on it every day. And\nthis is what Mihaly teaches you- how to become happy by learning to attain the\nstate of flow (or optimal experience).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we go on to the main thing, we will\nexplain what the \u201cflow\u201d is- it happens when you are totally absorbed in an\nactivity, when you completely lose the sense of time and space. Musicians,\nwhile improvising, are in the state of flow, for instance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happiness<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We have already drawn a link between the\nstate of flow and happiness. Now we will make it even more transparent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of people think that happiness equals\nmoney, fame, and other material pleasures. While this is sometimes true, much\nmore often it isn\u2019t. How many celebrities have stayed depressive and completely\nunhappy, in spite of their wealth and fame? Amy Winehouse most surely falls in\nthis category- she simply had it all. People loved how she looked, she was a\nfabulous singer, not to mention her payroll. And still, she finished her life\nas an unhappy, washed-up drug addict. Something was missing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We now know what Amy missed. She missed\nthat state of flow. She might have enjoyed her first gigs, but as she got more\nand more famous, it seemed that she simply didn\u2019t like what she did. In other\nwords, she missed that optimal experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Experiences\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some characteristics of optimal experiences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Optimal experiences don\u2019t just lie around\nwaiting to be picked up. You have to work hard in order to have these\nexperiences. These are some requirements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.   \nChoose your challenge wisely<\/strong>–\nif the task is too easy, you will lack the motivation to do it. If it\u2019s too\nhard, your self-esteem will suffer. So be careful to choose tasks that are\nneither too hard or easy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.   \nYour goals should be clear and\ntransparent<\/strong>– don\u2019t say things like: \u201c I want to become a better person\u201d or\n\u201cI want to become the best ever\u201d. Not only are these goals too ambitious, but\nthey are also extremely vague. The goals you choose should be clear. This is\nnecessary in order for you to appropriately evaluate your efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.    The feedback<\/strong>– always look for the\nfeedback. Even if it\u2019s negative, it will be good for you as you will learn how\nto improve. Positive feedback is naturally good because it boosts your morale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.   \nPerseverance<\/strong>– keep trying.\nSure, everybody speaks this, for a reason. There simply should be no space left\nfor demotivation. With every failure, you are closer to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s put this into perspective. Let\u2019s say\nthat you want to learn how to play the guitar. First thing you\u2019ll have to do is\nto choose a reasonably hard goal. This goal should be clear and easy to\nmeasure. For instance, you might choose to learn how to play an easy rock song-\nperhaps \u201cYesterday\u201d by the Beatles. This is a good goal because it\u2019s not that\nhard (although it is challenging) and you will get immediate feedback. You can\nalso always compare your playing with the original song- this means that you\nhave feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Writing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some\nactivities that can help you reach the flow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mihaly mentions a lot of different actions\nthat are linked closely with the flow- most importantly, art, play, and sports.\nSo if you find it hard to \u201close yourself\u201d in some activity, it might be smart\nto start practicing sports, art, and play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Play is very good to loosen you up a bit.\nWe grow up with an illusion that only children are allowed to play- but this is\none of the biggest lies ever. Everyone can play if the moment is right- hide\nand seek with your kids? Why not? But don\u2019t do this the way other grown-ups do\nit- a lot of people \u201cplay\u201d with their children, apparently, but not everybody\nenjoys it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, you can choose for yourself. Dance\nseems like a good activity for optimal experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meditation is also associated with the\nflow. One of the most important tenets of mediation is to be here now. When you\nare in the state of flow, you are doing just this. You forget about everything\nelse and focus only on the present moment. This is why meditation is linked\nclosely with optimal experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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