Books: Finding Flow (Mihaly Csikszenthmihalyi)

I spent much of the past few days reading this book, and it's a pretty interesting read that I would recommend to most. Of course, I have an uncommon predilection for psychology / self-help books, so not sure if others would appreciate it as much as I did. But I think the author is a very thoughtful writer / researcher and accomplishes the difficult task of articulating a path to self-actualization. Whether or not this is truly the path to self-actualization is TBD in my opinion, but I'm convinced enough to give it a try.

The book can be broken down into 2 main parts: 1) Defining and explaining concept of flow 2) Describing how to increase flow state in everyday living. I will summarize each part separately below.

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1) Flow is the psychological state of being fully engaged in an activity, where "what we feel, what we wish, and what we think are in harmony." It is the experience alluded to when athletes say they are 'in the zone' or when religious mystics report being in 'spiritual ecstasy'. I see flow as the state of mind where emotion (feeling like doing something), intention (wanting to accomplish something), and concentration (focusing the mind on something) are fully directed into one activity.

According to the author, flow most often occurs for activities that have a clear set of goals and that require appropriate responses (e.g. sports, games, etc.). Another characteristic of flow activities is that they provide immediate feedback on how you are doing. Finally, flow tends to occur when a person's skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable.

The premise of the author's flow theory is that it is the full involvement of flow, rather than happiness that makes for the optimal experience in life. Therefore everyone should strive to increase the time spent on flow. This assumption is something that I'm not really sure I whole-heartedly agree with; I am not convinced that the complicated and vague notion of quality of life can be reduced down to simply fully engaging oneself in daily tasks via flow. Granted, it's a difficult task for the author to prove objectively something as subjective as quality of life (perhaps even impossible). Therefore, I am willing to entertain the assumption to try out the interesting theory.

2) The author includes a lot of tables / charts in the book, but this one that I found most informative in understanding what life activities are most 'flow worthy'.

The table illustrates the typical quality of experience in various activities as rated by a representative group of adults and teenagers. Based on the results shown in the table, "...active leisure process the best experience overall, while housework, personal care, and idling provide the worst." My interpretation of this table is that the greater happiness (emotion), motivation (intention), and concentration implies greater 'experience overall'. (Again, this is not directly proven in the book, what if I think happiness is all I need or concentration for that matter?) Basically, pursuing active pastimes like hobbies and sports often creates the necessary conditions to induce flow. The author recognizes that it would be overly simplistic and unfeasible to suggest that people spend the rest of their lives pursuing their hobbies, instead, he proposes that we use the mindset and approach we take in our hobbies and apply them to our work lives and free time as well. In other words, instead of waiting for life to bring us flow, we must bring flow to the different aspects of our lives.

There are many problems with jobs; they are often meaningless, dull, and stressful - none of which are conditions for flow. What the author suggest is an attitude change; he argues that instead of being a passive pawn under the control of the corporate machine, every individual has the opportunity to exercise free will and find quality in their work lives.

"Our attitude to work usually involves spending a lot of effort tyring to cut corners and do as little as possible. But that is a short-sighted strategy. If one spent the same amount of attention trying to find ways to accomplish more on the job, one would enjoy working more -- and probably be more successful at it, too."

I agree with this attitude, but think it's MUCH easier said than done! I think it requires a very high degree of optimism, resilience, and will power to find flow in an environment that is cutthroat or unsupportive. Just saying, "change your attitude!" is a little bit too simplistic in my opinion. But I agree that is the goal that we should all strive towards, although the steps of how to get there are often arduous and not clearly defined.

There are also many problems with leisure time. Most people think of their free time as the time to become as passive as possible, either in front of a tv set or drinking to oblivion at a bar. "For many Americans, leisure is dangerous." :D Therefore, the author proposes:

"...having leisure at one's disposal does not improve the quality of life unless one knows how to use it effectively, and it is by no means something one learns automatically...All folk art - the songs, the fabrics, the pottery and carvings that give each culture its particular identity and renown -- is the result of common people striving to express their best skill in the time left free from work and maintenance chores. It is difficult to imagine how dull the world would be if our ancestors had used free time simply for passive entertainment, instead of finding in it an opportunity to explore beauty and knowledge."

In other words, spend your free time in active leisure (i.e. hobbies and sports) for they will produce greater quality of life. The author recognizes that many people are deterred by the upfront investment of attention, or activation energy if you will, these activities often require. The author argues not to shy away from extra work at the beginning in order to get greater returns later out of flow activities.

The self-actualized individual is someone who has become adept at bringing flow into work and play. At some point, "work and play are indivisible." The author describes the joie de vivre of these creative individuals as people who,

"like to do almost everything, no matter how difficult or trivial, including the things they are forced to do...even though they have no greater attentional capacity than anyone else, they pay more attention to what happens around them, they notice more, and they are wiling to invest more attention in things for their own sake without expecting an immediate return."

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Overall, I think this book speaks to the old adage, do what you love and love what you do. As a researcher, the author provides a more scientific perspective on the subjective experience of quality of life. His task is a difficult but noble endeavor, and, I'm sure, very flow worthy :) One of the things that this book has inspired me to do is to reflect on how much time I spend on the various activities in my life, and if they are the most meaningful ones for me and if not what I can do to restructure my life for greater quality. All in all, an inspiring read.