Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Rating:
Summary: Even better than evolving self
Review: I read Evolving Self and thought that was a wonderful book. Flow is even better. Great books, especially Flow.

Rating:
Summary: Even better than evolving self
Review: I read Evolving Self and thought that was a wonderful book. Flow is even better. Great books, especially Flow. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Without question, one of the most important books ever
Review: This book is not an easy read. It contains some of the most profound and relevant ideas for all people - as do Mihaly's other books such as "The Evolving Self". If you want to understand happiness - and how you can make choices to stay in a constant state of fulfilment - then you need to read this (and think about its ideas) carefully. Its wisdom, when truly understood and applied, could transform life on this planet.

It reveals much of what the great teachers have taught and our own conscience knows as established (scientific) fact.

In my view, and I am not an extremist (though I recognise that I might sound like one), this is up there in terms of global importance along with the Bible, the Koran, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing book, with limitless application...
Review: This is a superb book, with nearly limitless application!

The author manages to lay out in simple terms the core aspects of happiness. While many of these facets seem simple, it can be incredibly powerful to recognize just how much influence they have over your enjoyment of a particular task. I have used found these concepts to be especially valuable when it comes to managing people, not the least of which is managing my own career.

Many other books in the realm of personal effectiveness fall short by basing the entire text on the author's anecdotal experience, which ends up turning into meaningless platitudes. That is not the case here, as the author bases his conclusions on sound research.

My one gripe with the author is his choice to jump to the conclusion that since focus is sharping there is a loss of self. It would be pretty depressing to think one's own self is what's holding you back. More likely, I think what we're really giving up is our anxiety.

Rating:
Summary: Flow is Important
Review: The author's basic argument is that humans who experience Flow more often report better levels of existence. They are happier.

This book is an excellent read because of its examples; it also has cool pieces to help anyone put together their own puzzle.

Did you know that the leading theory of how cultures switch their general behavior acknowledges an altruistic side and a materialistic side - and only those sides?


BACK TO THE CONCEPT

Let's say you just stop doing something, and you realize that you were COMPLETELY engrossed in whatever you were doing. You stop for a minute, and think, woah, what the hell just happened?

It happens to everyone, but at Dr. C points out, to some more than other.

The task...

Must have your complete and undivided attention:

1. By having your skills adequate to presented challenges

2. By having clear goals (expectations) of achievement

3. By having immediate feedback of action to task


PEOPLE IN FLOW

People who are often in Flow activities describe the experience as being "one" with the stated activity.

Dr. C named this experience with any activity as Flow; based off of the most commonly used word interviewees gave when immersed in any type of activity.


Believe in Flow. Go play a game like Tetris and find where it is, and where it is not. Generally Dr. C would say, if I could speak for him, that the Flow in a game like Tetris would come at that point where you really need to find a place for a piece and are focusing completely and utterly on doing just that.

The book has its nice strands and its drab strands, I'd say become at least familiar with the concept.


(...)

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for seekers in Zen
Review: I have been looking out for this book for a year before it appeared at the bookstore again. I had found a book, entitled Good Business by the same author and found his concept of flow intriguing. I supposed Good Business is a great book but I wanted to understand the basic concepts before reading about how they apply to business.

Flow is a truly enlightening read. As I mentioned in my previous post, I read Zen in the Art of Archery and Flow is the perfect follow-up to it. Zen in the Art of Archery helped my understand flow in terms of photography. Ever since, photography for me was a spiritual practice. Flow elaborates on the concepts introduced to me in Zen in the Art of Archery. This book de-mystified flow experiences and made me aware of the various methods, conditions and activities which can bring about joy.

Csiksentmihalyi succeeded in describing the apparent paradoxes of Zen experiences. This book, although filled with findings from numerous modern studies is a must read for seekers interested to learn more about Zen and thus, life.

Rating:
Summary: Superb - life altering
Review: I use this book all the time - it has completely changed my approach to life in general. The main premise that I needed to learn is that enjoyment comes from complexity - so while our natural tendency is towards simplicity, full engagement in life ('flow') only comes about when you're fully immersed, often in a disciplined way, in a task that has rules and boundaries. In other words you need constant feedback of how well you're doing, no matter what the pursuit. Otherwise, it will all feel to simple, and you'll never achieve that higher state of 'flow'.