Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Happiness revisited

Twenty three thousand years ago Aristotle concluded that, humans seek happiness. People, instead of seeking happiness itself runs for health, beauty, money, power expecting it will make them happy. Although humankind has advanced so much from the time of Aristotle, we do not understand happiness better, no progress at all.

After decades of research author concluded that happiness does not depend on outside events, rather it reflects how we interpret them. It is a condition must be prepared, cultivated, and defended by each person.

We cannot reach happiness by consciously searching for it. As J.S Mill said Ask yourself wheather you are happy, and you cease to be so. It is involved with every detail of our life. Viktor Frankel in his book Man’s Search for Meaning said Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more more you are going to miss for it. For success like happiness, cannot be pursued; It must be ensue … as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.

Author believes although we have no direct route, we have a circuitous path that begins with achieving control over the contents of our consciousness.

The best moments of our life usually occur when the body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. They are not necessarily pleasant when occur. It took author to the concept of optimal experience or flow state of mind - in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost , for the sheer sake of doing it. Authors research team surveyed and experimented the concept all over the world, men - women, poor - elite, and found the description of flow state experience is alike.

Book overview

1. Author says the book does not include dos and don’ts, rather it needs some intellectual effort, a commitment to reflect and thinking hard about one’s own experience.
2. first how consciousness works, and how it is controlled.
3. optimal state is achieved by struggling to overcome challenges matching one’s skill. These are most enjoyable times of life.
4. why some things are more enjoyable than others - conditions of the flow experience.
5. to achieve control what happens in mind use physical and sensory skills ranging from athletics to music to yoga.
6. or through symbolic skills such as poetry, philosophy, or mathematics.
7. transform jobs into flow-producing activities while we spent most of our times working or living with family.
8. managing to enjoy life despite adversity as one encounters tragic or unfortunate incidents.
9. Think of ways of making relation with parents, spouses, children, and friends more enjoyable.
10. Manage to join all experience into a meaningful pattern. It creates a sense of control and nothing is left to desire. Even the most humdrum experiences become enjoyable.

Before starting the journey to the knowledge of optimal flow experience one need to know the obstacles to fulfillment implicit in the human condition. To deal with these obstacles every culture developed protective devices like religions, philosophies, arts, and comforts that shield from chaos. But after few centuries this shields boils down to useless laws when the belief wears out from the public mind. After that in search of happiness people goes for maximizing pleasures originated from biology or society. Wealth, power, and sex become the mirage of happiness. ….