Customer Reviews

Flow (P.S.)

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Besides having more vowels in his name than any other researcher in the field of positive psychology, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi is probably best known for his book "Flow". So what exactly is flow?

Well, there are short and long ways to define the concept of flow. The short way is to tell you that flow is roughly the equivalent to what most people refer to as being "in the zone" or "in the groove". More elaborate definitions might be that it is "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people do it even at great cost, for the sheer state of doing it."

Being such a desirable state, flow is naturally linked to happiness. The book feels that the path to happiness is a circuitous one that begins with one achieving control over the "contents of our consciousness". I'm taking that to mean that if I learn to find flow experiences, it will lead to greater happiness.

Know from the get-go that "Flow" is NOT a step-by-step book that gives you tips on how to be happy. Instead, the book summarizes years of research, so what you get when all is said and done, are general principles along with examples of how people have used them to transform their lives. The hope, then, is that you will have enough information in the book to make the transition from principles and theory, to actual practice.

In a nutshell, "Flow" is a unique and interesting book that examines the process of achieving happiness through the control of one's inner life and is a classic in it's field. Other positive psychology books I liked include "Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World".

Flow are those inexplicable moments of indescribable happiness that we experience at rare intervals, when we are "surprised by joy." These precious moments seem to be gifts, almost accidental peak experiences in which life seems rich with meaning, joy and wonder. When and why do these magic episodes intrude upon our humdrum existences? Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's answer may surprise you: "Contrary to what we usually believe, moments like these, the best moments of our lives, are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times ... The best moments of our lives usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to the limits in a voluntary moment to achieve something difficult and worthwhile. Optimal experience is thus something we make happen ... For each person there are thousands of opportunities, challenges to expand ourselves."

Csikszentmihalyi's theme is happiness. This philosopher-psychologist points out the Aristotelian concept that all other things we seek, riches, fame, power, etc. are valued only because we believe they will make us happy. Based upon decades of research on the mystery of happiness, Csikszentmihalyi defines it as moments of self-forgetfulness when we are totally absorbed in the process of life ... intervals of peak creativity and self-expression. He expands upon the research of Abraham Maslow and agrees that peak experiences are within the reach of us all. The theme of this book is the introduction of techniques to make this glad to be alive feeling occur more often. It may be stated that this book is no self-help step-by-step program, nor could it be. Each of us is plowing new snow, creating a path that no one else has traveled. The guidelines and the principles are here, but the journey into the sublime uncertainty of our destiny is individual and precious. Flow is one of several extraordinary contributions by this great mind.

Amazon already did a good job summarizing Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow, so I will instead focus on evaluating its content.

The book is set up in a way where the first few chapters concentrate on defining and analyzing the intricate relationship between human consciousness and happiness. Once this is firmly established, Csikszentmihalyi goes on to introduce the concept of flow, its physiology and its conditions. All subsequent chapters then examine flow in various aspects of our lives and the last chapter focuses on the philosophical implications of the concept and whether it relates to finding "meaning in life".

It has been said in science that any researcher should have the ability to explain their theory clearly and concisely to a layman. I felt that Csikszentmihalyi's style of writing is very true to this statement, as he puts in a particular effort to make his book accessible and very easy to read for just about anyone. I would even say that he is overly simple to a fault - using a philosophically-conversational tone at the expense of a slightly more rigid "literature review" style that predominates more modern pop sci books. Despite this, the author is still capable of conveying a decent amount of science and methodology behind his discovery and analysis of the optimal experience model.

To me, the most powerful chapters were really the first five where, as I discussed earlier, Csikszentmihalyi really puts the meat on the bones of his theory of flow and masterfully connects everything together. Some passages just made so much sense that I had to put the book down and seriously contemplate about what is being said and how it relates to my entire understanding of life. To use the author's own language it put me in a very deep and enjoyable "flow of thought".

The book does have a small blemish in the fact that it gets a bit repetitive when it goes into listing the occurrence of flow in everyday settings. I don't have anything against the discussion of applicability of the theory, it just seems that sections containing very similar messages could have been condensed. Perhaps 240 pages (not including notes and references) is a bit much for this type of format and ideally it should have been closer to 200 pages. However, I want to emphasize that this small fault does not in any way make the book a "drag" and some people may find this "extra" information rather useful.

To conclude, I found Csikszentmihalyi's lifelong research, his findings and the overall message of his work extremely compelling and powerful. The theory of flow does an excellent job describing many aspects of our lives and most importantly sheds light on the conditions of happy and meaningful existence. I would honestly recommend this book to anyone. It is rather short and very readable and guaranteed to make you analyze your life and the life of your friends and family through the lens of the theory of flow.

I read this book a few years back and was completely by blown away by the eloquence of the author and his incredible insights. I appreciate his numerous citations to history as well as traditional references and that they are purposefully not represented as footnotes. In my readings, he is singly able to looks across cultures to find universal truths.

I suppose that this book would be found in the "Self-Help" or "Psychology" section of the bookstore, but it is not a book of lists of how to be happy. It is more of a delicious dissertation... it is so rich in content. I was looking for it recently, as I was finding myself off balance and not coping with the stresses of daily life adequately.

Briefly, FLOW strives to recognize that "being in the flow" is not accidental. It is not genius. It is not based on your economic status or your state of health. It is not a given that it carries over from one aspect of your life to another easily. It's fostered by an awareness and acceptance of yourself and the idea that you need to give yourself adequate challenges. Probably the most essential part of the book for me at this time are the last two chapters that address how to make sense of tragedy and decide what it is that you are living for so you can rise above it. This book raises interesting moral questions, and above all, seems relevant in every aspect to modern life. Be prepared to be influenced in a new, positive way. I have this in paperback and now Kindle.

Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, (known as `Mike' and for the record his family name is pronounced "cheek-sent-me-high-ee", His name comes from "Saint Michael from the province of Csik," Csik being originally a Hungarian province) is one of the world's leading researchers on Positive Psychology. The author of numerous books and published papers, Flow is recognized as his most influential book and has had a far reaching impact, selling millions of copies, and used extensively in academia, business, sports, psychology and life coaching.

Flow integrates research on consciousness, personal psychology, and spirituality to;

"Present general principles along with concrete examples of how some people have used these principles, to transform boring and meaningless lives into ones full of enjoyment."

Our Professor describes his work as the effort "to study what makes people truly happy." The emphasis here is on the word "truly"--because to him, happiness is not simply an emotional state. The happiness he points to involves the continual challenge to go beyond oneself as part of something greater than one's own self-interest.

Mihaly acknowledges throughout that Flow research is deep rooted in Ancient Wisdom starting with Aristotle's the good life. Aristotle's model of the good life is `Eudaimonia', "the state of being well and doing well," often translated as meaning `happiness'. The Taoist philosophy of `doing without doing', Yogi traditions, Jesuit teachings, heavy reliance on Stoic and more recent philosophy and his own extensive scientific research of which he documents many examples, including in the notes section reference to a `pot pourri' of high achievers.

We are introduced to how the principles of Flow can help us overcome external influences by so doing this also positively impacts, first of all ourselves, and then our experiences with close "Full" interpersonal relationships, good health, wisdom, awe, maturity, charity, moral development, self-control, purposeful striving, creativity, and professional accomplishments. Mihaly indicates;

"The reality is that the quality of life does not depend directly on what others think of us or on what we own. The bottom line is, rather, how we feel about ourselves and about what happens to us. To improve life one must improve the quality of experience." "To gain personal control over the quality of experience, however, one needs to learn how to build enjoyment into what happens, day in, day out."

So just like Krishnamurti tells us, "We must open the door ourselves" Mihaly reminds us that the impediments to Flow are located within the individual or "the roots of discontent are internal" and each individual "must untangle them personally, with his or her own power."

to our Professor teach us how "whenever the goal is improve the quality of life, the flow theory can point the way" and like some people, we can also have a "good time standing at a bus stop" or "waiting in a dentist's office" and live a happy life. A magnificent Book.

This book explains what optimal experiences are and how they relate to the psychology of happiness. This book also provides some intriguing definitions for consciousness, attention, and intention, which I think are useful in reconsidering how to purposely use such elements of our behavior to prompt flow. It's a good book overall, with the author providing some excellent examples of how people have used flow states to overcome adversity as well as create works of genius. It also presents some psychological theory which isn't rooted in Freud, Jung, or the eight circuit model, which is refreshing to read, and much needed in order to better appreciate psychology as a discipline and how that discipline can be related to one's spirituality.

If there's one area where this book suffers, it's that the author is sometimes too wordy and overly repetitious. While I enjoyed this book, there were times, I felt the author was repeating himself too much, in order to get a point across. That said, it's definitely worth picking up, to broaden your understanding of psychology and optimal states of experience.

This was one of the most interesting and inspiring books I've read, ever. Granted it does start off very dry in the beginning but if you hang in there and follow the path the author is taking you, you will find that this book is a gem of brilliance. Creating a life that has meaning is something that we can achieve - it doesn't just fall upon us - and that fact that anyone can do it by following what inspires them is wonderful.

I have recommended this book to several friends and acquaintances - even people at cocktail parties - as one of the most insightful books ever. Excellent!!

This book is profound and gives much delicious food for thought. I have read many books in this genre and none have ever moved me more.
Those who complain that it's hard to read betray their undeveloped thinking powers and short attention spans.
A joy to read, it is a delightful romp through fascinating and amazingly useful insights on actualizing our potential. I've made notations throughout my copy, in order to find the many nuggets of wisdom again, so I can digest them further!
If you enjoy exploring the topic of authentic life happiness, this book is not to be missed!

This book isn't a romance novel. Sure the author could have spiced it up but it's just psychology. If you love psychology, you'll find the depth in it. If you're reading for entertainment, then it may be a bit dry for you. It is in fact a very deep presentation on how the mind works and when it's at its best, and when it isn't.

The title is a bit misleading, as flow does not describe "optimal experience", but simply genuine experience where the subject is just one with the experience. It is true that this is also some kind of "optimal way" to experience life, but by no means can one so easily optimize it. So now, the book won't help you get into those kind of experiences. However, it gives some insight into how simple it is to get into that, when you really love what you do and forget about everybody else when you do it.