Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Flow Summary

In “Flow”, the author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explores how to have optimal experiences. We all seek happiness and optimal experiences. The issue is that our methods for achieving happiness are completely wrong. In developed countries we try to achieve happiness through control of our environments and when that fails we turn to physical means of happiness including money, things, relationships, entertainment, etc. These methods are all fleeting and only provide temporary happiness.

The proven path to happiness is through optimizing our lives for experiences. We must find ways to root ourselves into experiences that bring us true joy. These experiences tend to materialize through activities that are challenging that take up nearly our entire consciousness.

A  symptom of an optimal experience is a sense of time loss. As we complete the activity or experience we lose all track of time. A large component to fewer people experiencing these kinds of moments is that we have been taught that anything that requires work must be a burden rather than joyful. If we can shift that perspective with the things that make us feel alive we have a greater chance of experiencing flow more often.

Flow Notes

Chapter 1 Happiness Revisited

Happiness revisited

• Over many years we have still not figured out the key to happiness. Material and physical health have never been higher, and they have not made us happier
• Happiness is not impacted by outside environment
• Optimal experiences occur when we have worked hard mentally or physically and we have a sense of a milestone being achieved
• Flow is the state of activity where nothing external to your activity matters. If just fades into the background

Overview

• There are ways in which we temporarily try to feel like we are in control. These provide a temporary sense of happiness. When that doesn’t work we turn to physical sources of happiness which are even more fleeting

The Root of Discontent

• The universe is developed for chaos. Everything will not always go your way. We must learn to accept that chaos.
• Even as our situations improve we are hit with an increase in wants

The Shields of Culture

• Materialism has increased significantly but our ability to have meaningful experience has not

Reclaiming Experience

• We must separate our reward structure from the social system. The social system reward focuses on continue output of production rather than experience

Paths of Liberation

• The reason why many people are unable to decouple themselves from the social system rewards is that it takes hard work and consistency equal to that of an athlete. This level of dedication is not something many are capable of

Chapter 2 The anatomy of Consciousness

• Those who have mastered their feelings and reactions tend to live happier lives
• Science has not been able to define consciousness yet
• There limits to our consciousness. We can tell when we are hungry but cannot determine the exact amount of blood sugar we have.

The Limits of Consciousness

• We are only able to process a certain amount of information in a given time period. The upper limits of what we can process is 126 bits of information per second
• Because what we can process is so limited we have to be careful with what we allow into our consciousness
• People who are high achievers in their field have determined how to focus their attention so that all of their consciousness is used to address the specific issues or projects

Enter the Self

• Attention impacts self until self drives attention

Disorder in consciousness: Psychic Entropy

• Information can disrupt our goals to the point that it can impact our sense of self

Order in consciousness: Flow

• Flow occurs when information confirms the goals we hold. It occurs without a sense of worry or any feelings of being inadequate
• Sometimes if the goals we set do not get us in a state of flow we know they are not our true goals

Complexity and the growth of the self

• Complexity is often associated with negative. However there are cases where complexity just refers to a many systems machine or process working in harmony
• Complexity requires both differentiation and integration. Differentiation to strive for uniqueness and integration to avoid self-centered egotism

Chapter 3 Enjoyment and Quality of life

• There are two main strategies to improve quality of life
• Change external resources to align with your goals
• Influence others to change their ways to allow you to achieve your goals
• Change your perceptions to make goals easier to achieve
• Lower your standards to allow you to achieve your goals

Pleasure and Enjoyment

• Pleasure helps restore us, but doesn’t inherently increase happiness
• Enjoyment is pushing forward and creating something new
• Enjoyment requires focus, pleasure can occur even when we are not focused

Elements of Enjoyment

• Enjoyment described by individuals, regardless of who or where tends to have similar descriptions
• There are eight components to an enjoyable activity

A challenging activity that requires skill

• A challenge has to be just challenging enough so that we don’t get board or anxious
• We have to have some experience with the activity

The merging of action and awareness

• In flow all of our attention is required because all of the skills we have are needed to keep moving forward
• Work in flow cannot happen without effort

Clear goals and feedback

• Feedback is an indication that an action is or is not accomplishing the desired outcome
• We can respond to feedback to make corrections so that the results will accomplish our goals

Concentration on the task at hand

• Because flow requires our full attention we are unable to focus on any unpleasant aspects of life
• Flow create or implies order

The Paradox of control

• We have a sense of control over the situation
• Possibility versus actuality of control
• The perception of control can become addicting

The loss of self consciousness

• When we are in a flow state we no longer have the capacity to be self conscious
• The only sense of self that remains are the components needed for the job

The transformation of time

• Flow experiences tend to have an element of time dilation when time tracking is not a pivotal component of the activity

The autotelic experience

• Flow occurs most often in cases where the activity is the reward. We don’t do it for external praise or rewards. We do it because we enjoy it
• Crime occurs when individuals seek autotelic experiences but do not have the means for them to occur through less nefarious means
• Flow can have both positive and negative outcomes. The goal is to approach positivity and control negativity

Chapter 4 The Conditions of Flow

• Flow instances rarely happen by happen stance

Flow activities

• We must have the right balance of skill and challenge

Flow and culture

• Cultures and time periods offer different levels of happiness through ability to openly pursue optimal experiences
• If life becomes too easy it lacks challenge and meaning
• When a culture embraces flow for some, it is possible that comes that the expense of others
• With greater access to leisure activities we see a drop in optimal experience

The autotelic personality

• There are social and psychological hinderances to optimal experiences or enjoyment

Neurophysiology and flow

• Evidence tends to suggest that the ability to concentrate is something that we can learn
• Those who can concentrate easier also have an easier time achieving flow

The Effects of Family on the autotelic personality

• Families can impact children’s ability to have optimal experiences
• Five characteristics
• Clarity – Clear expectations, goals, feedback
• Centering – perception of interest in the child here and now
• Choice – possibilities to choose from even negative choices with the consequences that follow
• Commitment – trust to set aside defenses and pour entirely into interests
• Challenge – parents dedication to provide increasingly complex opportunities
• Ill treated children tend to grow up to be adults who seek pleasure instead of enjoyment

The people of flow

• Even in the face of adversity optimal experience can be found with a perspective shift and an unwavering drive to remain positive and focused

Chapter 5 The Body in Flow

• When we do not use our bodies they atrophy. Opportunities to challenge the body allow us to develop flow opportunities

Higher, Faster, Stronger

• We can create optimal experiences out of physical activities by setting challenging goals and measuring our progress toward those goals

The Joys of Movement

• Dance is a form where flow can happen for individuals on many levels. Flow can occur in dancing even when you are not a professional. Professionals pursue dance perfection.

Sex as Flow

• Sex can become boring if we are not trying new things and challenges to keep things exciting

The ultimate control: Yoga and the martial arts

• Balance between spiritual and materialism
• Yoga in the East has several levels each with a different aim that more easily contributes to flow that that of the West.
• Martial arts in the East are less about physical performance and more about mind and body alignment

Flow through the senses: The joy of seeing

• Flow can occur when we take a moment to be completely occupied with a visual stimulous
• I experience flow when doing portrait photography

The Flow of Music

• Flow opportunities through music can occur in listening or creating music

Chapter 6 The Flow of Though

The Mother of Science

• Memory is required to have a knowledge of arts and science that is passed through generations.
• Rote learning is often considered less desirable. However, the ability to memorize facts or snippets relevant to your work or interests can come in handy

The Rules of the games of the Mind

• Skills and knowledge develop system in our minds that allow us to be comfortable with our thoughts in silence. Without that comfort we turn to outside stimulus to keep our minds from wandering into negativity

The play of words

• Finding flow requires being able to be the source of your own flow. You cannot rely on others to create it for you
• Puzzles, conversation, poetry, and writing are all ways that we can use words to find flow

Befriending Clio

• Understanding history or trying to capture elements of our own history can become a flow experience

The delights of science

• Science is a series of puzzles that anyone with enough interest can enjoy

Loving Wisdom

• Specialization in a broad focus area is inevitable. However don’t let specialization take the original joy out of the activity

Amateurs and Professionals

• Being an amateur is not a bad thing. It means you pursue a activity or knowledge because you love it. You aren’t ready to completely pursue it to the level of professional though.

The Challenge of lifelong learning

• Beyond school if you can continue pursuing research and learning in areas that interest you. You will experience many opportunities for optimal experiences

Chapter 7 Work as Flow

Autotelic Workers

• Generally, work is considered a burden to bear
• Work is more challenging that doing nothing
• Work can be enjoyable
• Perceptions of work enjoyment can vary between generations
• If you can find or create joy you are in a much better place than someone whose joy is derived from vices.

Autotelic Jobs

• A job can be made to be enjoyable if the right environmental factors are present. These factors are consistent with the ones required for flow
• People who don’t enjoy their jobs tend to become less and less productive
• Often those in a position to make a job more enjoyable prioritize the wrong things

The paradox of work

• People reporting being challenged and happy at work but also report a desire to be at work less. This may be due to perspectives that work is a burden and must be negative

The waste of free time

• We long to leave work for free time, but once we have it we don’t know what to do
• Work has structure, goals, and feedback. Free time does not
• Leisure guided toward challenging hobbies or creation provide us with the ability to enjoy free time. Media consumption does not

Chapter 8 Enjoy solitude and other people

The conflict between being along and being with others

• Because we rely on other their approval or disapproval means more to us
• We are genetically programmed to seek out belonging. It is a tribal instinct that drives us to belong because without that we are less likely to survive

The Pain of loneliness

• Many people cannot stand to be alone. When solitude arrives many look for external entertainment
• A healthy, well rounded individual needs to be able to sit with their thoughts and learn to use solitude for deep though or learning

Flow and the Family

• We are more likely to help siblings that cousins due to a greater amount of genes in common and a genetic disposition to preserve the genes
• Relationships require a repositioning of individual goals to function
• Teenagers need parents with hobbies. Tis sets and example and helps prevent teens from getting involved in finding other areas of optimal experience

Enjoying friends

• Because our friends are usually groups of people we have commonalities with we don’t have to change who we are with them
• When teenagers feel cared for and loved at home it empowers them to take control of their friendships
• Friendships in adulthood are harder to come by. They take more work to foster because common interests are harder to find

The wider community

• Those who try to make life better for others without getting control of themselves first will make life worse for everyone in the long run

Chapter 9 Cheating chaos

• Flow is not limited to those who have no outside stressors such as wealth and health
• Even those who are in terrible circumstances can find flow

Tragedies Transformed

• Survivors of tragic events report a clearer sense of purpose and set of goals than they had previously

Coping with stress

• Our ability to cope hinges on three factors
• External support
• Psychological resources
• Coping strategies

The power of dissipative structures

• Being able to find the energy in an otherwise destructive force can turn a bad thing into something good
• There are complexities that we cannot control. If we shift our focus instead to the aspects we can control it gives us the power to take action

The Autotelic self: A Summary

• If we limit our interpretations of the world through the lens of what we already know we handicap ourselves from growth or seeing different perspectives

Chapter 10 The Making of meaning

• Life itself has no specific goal for us. Thus we have to create meaning for ourselves

What meaning means

• Three senses of the word “meaning”
• End, purpose, significance of something
• Refers to a persons intentions
• Refers to ordering information

Cultivating purpose

• Purpose can be established and cultivated on four different levels

Forging resolve

• When we are lead strictly by goals we can get to a point where we lose track of ourselves and what really matters

Recovering harmony

• Animals are driven by instinct. When they are hungry they hunt, when they are tired they sleep. Animals have fewer choices and thus have a much easier time finding harmony and flow
• Human tribes without access to technology have an easier time finding flow because they have fewer choices

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Source

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. New York, Harper & Row.