Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
For most people, this is the "Happiness Handbook." Both scientific and philosophical, it essentially defines happiness itself and then goes into great detail about how we can achieve it every moment of our life (at least hypothetically). While far from "light reading," I found the intense mental focus the book required was almost physically pleasurable.
WHAT IS HAPPINESS?
A human being knows happiness insofar as he can mentally order his conscience and fight against chaos (what Mr. C calls "psychic entropy"). This explains why animals (and the people who fight for their basic survival on a daily basis) experience an almost constant flow. The meaning of their life, the center of their energy, is simple. It may not be pleasant, but it is simple. We spoiled, and idle people are the ones on the couch who complain about the lack of fulfillment and happiness in their lives. Why ? Because we are overwhelmed with so many complicated concerns that we don't know where to focus our psychic energy.
WHAT IS FLOW?
Here is the main point of the book. Although he briefly examines general "happiness," he is more interested in how to enjoy the moments of everyday life truly. M. C. refers to the Buddha-like process of "losing oneself" and experiencing enlightenment and self-fulfillment as a state of "flow." Everyone, whether professional athletes, chess masters, or students, remembers a moment when it seemed that they disappeared as a person, fully immersed in the activity in which they are engaged. M. C. collected data from various cultures, professions, socio-economic conditions, and life stages, then discovered certain conditions present during the "flow," notably
(1) engaging in an activity that is both challenging and achievable (if the activity is too easy, we are bored; if it is too difficult, we are anxious)
(2) the ability to stay focused on the business
(3) clearly defined goals that are in the control of the individual ("winning the Pulitzer Prize" is not a stand-alone goal, for example, because you don't personally choose who wins the Pulitzer)
(4) immediate feedback (our psychic energy tends to atrophy if we don't have confirmation that we are on the right track)
(5) deep and effortless involvement in the activity, which eliminates the worries and frustrations of everyday life (during the flow, you "get lost" in what you are doing because much of your psychic energy is engaged)
(6) sense of control over one's actions (more of the definition of happiness by fighting chaos)
(7) non-self-aware individualism (paradoxically, you get lost in what you are doing and eliminate self-criticism, and yet when the process is over, you are, in fact, a "more complex" individual. MC claims that "the loss of self-awareness does not imply loss of self, and certainly no loss of consciousness, but rather, only loss of self-awareness.
According to Mr. C, the reason most of us see ourselves as unhappy is that we "keep widening the gap between necessary but unpleasant jobs and enjoyable but uncomplicated hobbies ... Filling our free time with activities that require concentration, which increase skills, which lead to self-development, is not the same as killing time while watching television or taking recreational drugs ". Once we learn to mimic these essential flow characteristics, Mr. C claims we can experience them in every day-to-day activity - whether it's performing brain surgery or doing the dishes.
We can experience the flow in our home, work, personal relationships, daily activities, everything! We need to look at the list, find out what condition is missing, and get creative. When situations threaten our happiness, we tackle the problem healthily and proactively and rerelease our psychic energy to achieve our life goals.
In summary, those who control their inner experience determine their quality of life.