A THREAD on key takeaways from the book
"Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi:
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“Flow” is the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered,
and they want to pursue whatever they are doing for...
"Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi:
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“Flow” is the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered,
and they want to pursue whatever they are doing for...
...its own sake.
In reviewing some of the activities that consistently produce flow—such as sports, games, art, and hobbies—it becomes easier to understand what makes people happy.
In reviewing some of the activities that consistently produce flow—such as sports, games, art, and hobbies—it becomes easier to understand what makes people happy.
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One of the most frequently mentioned dimensions of the flow experience is that, while it lasts, one is able to forget all the unpleasant aspects of life.
One of the most frequently mentioned dimensions of the flow experience is that, while it lasts, one is able to forget all the unpleasant aspects of life.
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The flow experience, like everything else, is not “good” in an absolute sense.
It is good only in that it has the potential to make life more rich, intense, and meaningful; it is good because it increases the strength and complexity of the self.
The flow experience, like everything else, is not “good” in an absolute sense.
It is good only in that it has the potential to make life more rich, intense, and meaningful; it is good because it increases the strength and complexity of the self.
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Everything we experience—joy or pain, interest or boredom—is represented in the mind as information.
If we are able to control this information, we can decide what our lives will be like.
Everything we experience—joy or pain, interest or boredom—is represented in the mind as information.
If we are able to control this information, we can decide what our lives will be like.
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People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy.
People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy.
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Most of us become so rigidly fixed in the ruts carved out by genetic programming and social conditioning that we ignore the options of choosing any other course of action.
Most of us become so rigidly fixed in the ruts carved out by genetic programming and social conditioning that we ignore the options of choosing any other course of action.
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Control over consciousness is not simply a cognitive skill.
It requires the commitment of emotions and will.
It is not enough to know how to do it; one must do it, consistently, in the same way as athletes or musicians who must keep practicing what they know in theory.
Control over consciousness is not simply a cognitive skill.
It requires the commitment of emotions and will.
It is not enough to know how to do it; one must do it, consistently, in the same way as athletes or musicians who must keep practicing what they know in theory.
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Attention is like energy in that without it no work can be done, and in doing work is dissipated.
We create ourselves by how we use this energy.
Attention is like energy in that without it no work can be done, and in doing work is dissipated.
We create ourselves by how we use this energy.
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In reality, to achieve such an ordered mental condition is not as easy as it sounds.
Contrary to what we tend to assume, the normal state of the mind is chaos.
In reality, to achieve such an ordered mental condition is not as easy as it sounds.
Contrary to what we tend to assume, the normal state of the mind is chaos.
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Creating meaning involves bringing order to the contents of the mind by integrating one’s actions into a unified flow experience.
Creating meaning involves bringing order to the contents of the mind by integrating one’s actions into a unified flow experience.
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It’s exhilarating to come closer and closer to self-discipline.
It’s exhilarating to come closer and closer to self-discipline.
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A person who has achieved control over psychic energy & has invested it in consciously chosen goals cannot help but grow into a more complex being.
By stretching skills, by reaching toward higher challenges, such a person becomes an increasingly extraordinary individual.
A person who has achieved control over psychic energy & has invested it in consciously chosen goals cannot help but grow into a more complex being.
By stretching skills, by reaching toward higher challenges, such a person becomes an increasingly extraordinary individual.
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When we choose a goal and invest ourselves in it to the limits of concentration, whatever we do will be enjoyable.
And once we have tasted this joy, we will redouble our efforts to taste it again.
This is the way the self grows.
When we choose a goal and invest ourselves in it to the limits of concentration, whatever we do will be enjoyable.
And once we have tasted this joy, we will redouble our efforts to taste it again.
This is the way the self grows.
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The purpose of the flow is to keep on flowing, not looking for a peak or utopia but staying in the flow.
It is not a moving up but a continuous flowing; you move up to keep the flow going.
There is no possible reason for climbing except the climbing itself.
The purpose of the flow is to keep on flowing, not looking for a peak or utopia but staying in the flow.
It is not a moving up but a continuous flowing; you move up to keep the flow going.
There is no possible reason for climbing except the climbing itself.
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Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue...as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.
Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue...as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.
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It is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were.
It is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were.
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When people start believing that progress is inevitable and life easy, they may quickly lose courage and determination in the face of the first signs of adversity.
When people start believing that progress is inevitable and life easy, they may quickly lose courage and determination in the face of the first signs of adversity.
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Few things are sadder than encountering a person who knows exactly what he should do, yet cannot muster enough energy to do it.
Few things are sadder than encountering a person who knows exactly what he should do, yet cannot muster enough energy to do it.
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Of all the virtues we can learn no trait is more useful, more essential for survival, and more likely to improve the quality of life than the ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge.
Of all the virtues we can learn no trait is more useful, more essential for survival, and more likely to improve the quality of life than the ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge.
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The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.
The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.
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The ultimate test for the ability to control the quality of experience is what a person does in solitude, with no external demands to give structure to attention.
The ultimate test for the ability to control the quality of experience is what a person does in solitude, with no external demands to give structure to attention.
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To overcome the anxieties and depressions of contemporary life, individuals must become independent of the social environment to the degree that they no longer respond exclusively in terms of its rewards and punishments.
To achieve such autonomy, a person...
To overcome the anxieties and depressions of contemporary life, individuals must become independent of the social environment to the degree that they no longer respond exclusively in terms of its rewards and punishments.
To achieve such autonomy, a person...
... has to learn to provide rewards to herself.
She has to develop the ability to find enjoyment and purpose regardless of external circumstances.
She has to develop the ability to find enjoyment and purpose regardless of external circumstances.
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The way to grow while enjoying life is to create a higher form of order out of the entropy that is an inevitable condition of living.
This means taking each new challenge not as something to be repressed or avoided, but as an opportunity for learning & for improving skills.
The way to grow while enjoying life is to create a higher form of order out of the entropy that is an inevitable condition of living.
This means taking each new challenge not as something to be repressed or avoided, but as an opportunity for learning & for improving skills.
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Adolescents who never learn to control their consciousness grow up to be adults without a “discipline.”
They lack the complex skills that will help them survive in a competitive, information-intensive environment.
And what is even more...
Adolescents who never learn to control their consciousness grow up to be adults without a “discipline.”
They lack the complex skills that will help them survive in a competitive, information-intensive environment.
And what is even more...
... important, they never learn how to enjoy living.
They do not acquire the habit of finding challenges that bring out hidden potentials for growth.
They do not acquire the habit of finding challenges that bring out hidden potentials for growth.
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The rules themselves are clear enough, & within everyone’s reach. But many forces, both within ourselves & in the environment, stand in the way.
It is a little like trying to lose weight: everyone knows what it takes, & wants to do it, yet it is next to impossible for many.
The rules themselves are clear enough, & within everyone’s reach. But many forces, both within ourselves & in the environment, stand in the way.
It is a little like trying to lose weight: everyone knows what it takes, & wants to do it, yet it is next to impossible for many.
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How we feel about ourselves, the joy we get from living, ultimately depend directly on how to the mind filters & interprets everyday experiences.
Whether we are happy depends on inner harmony, not on the controls we are able to exert over the great forces of the universe.
How we feel about ourselves, the joy we get from living, ultimately depend directly on how to the mind filters & interprets everyday experiences.
Whether we are happy depends on inner harmony, not on the controls we are able to exert over the great forces of the universe.
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There was a time when it was admirable to be an amateur poet or a dilettante scientist, because it meant that the quality of life could be improved by engaging in such activities.
But increasingly the emphasis has been to value behavior over subjective states; what is...
There was a time when it was admirable to be an amateur poet or a dilettante scientist, because it meant that the quality of life could be improved by engaging in such activities.
But increasingly the emphasis has been to value behavior over subjective states; what is...
... admired is success, achievement, the quality of performance rather than the quality of experience.
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Even when children are taught music, the usual problem often arises: too much emphasis is placed on how they perform, and too little on what they experience.
Even when children are taught music, the usual problem often arises: too much emphasis is placed on how they perform, and too little on what they experience.
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A person who rarely gets bored, who does not constantly need a favorable external environment to enjoy the moment, has passed the test for having achieved a creative life.
A person who rarely gets bored, who does not constantly need a favorable external environment to enjoy the moment, has passed the test for having achieved a creative life.
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Among the many intellectual pursuits available, reading is currently perhaps the most often mentioned flow activity around the world.
Among the many intellectual pursuits available, reading is currently perhaps the most often mentioned flow activity around the world.
