#1 Thing 101 Library About
JOIN THE WAITLIST


Flow

The Psychology of Optimal Experience

About the book
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi | Harper Perenniel Modern Classics ©2008
336 pages
7 hours saved on average by reading this note
 
brian’s take

Flow. It's all about the science of optimal human experience. In this Note, we'll explore what the flow state is (hint: get fully engaged in an activity that matches your skills with your challenge) and we’ll look at some other Big Ideas on controlling the contents of our consciousness to get out of anxiety and boredom as we create more flow experiences in our lives. (Plus, you'll even learn how to pronounce "Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.")

"Why is it that, despite having achieved previously undreamed-of miracles of progress, we seem more helpless in facing life than our less privileged ancestors were? The answer seems clear: while humankind collectively has increased its material powers a thousandfold, it has not advanced very far in terms of improving the content of experience."

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
big ideas
01
Contents of Our Consciousness
02
Buddha, Jesus & Your Consciousness
03
Knowing + Doing
04
Attention As Psychic Energy
05
Boredom, Anxiety and Flow
06
Culture Building Flow
07
Flow at Work and in Leisure
08
Transforming Adversity
09
Achieving Inner Harmony
10
One Less Rascal In the World
 
join today To Access
download and print  
listen to audio
save to favorites
Join the waitlist


Flow

introduction
from the book

“We have called this state the flow experience, because this is the term many of the people we interviewed had used in their descriptions of how it felt to be in top form: ‘It was like floating,’

 

‘I was carried on by the flow.’ It is the opposite of psychic entropy
 and those who attain it develop a stronger, more confident self, because more of their psychic energy has been invested successfully in goals they themselves had chosen to pursue.”

 

 

 
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Let’s start by learning how to pronounce his name. According to Martin Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness (see Notes), it’s “mee-high” “cheeks-SENT-me-high.”

Schew. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, time to get to work! :)

Csikszentmihalyi and Martin Seligman are kinda the Godfathers of the Positive Psychology movement. Did you know that, in the 20th century, for every one hundred articles written on “negative” stuff like depression, schizophrenia, etc, there was only ONE article written on the “positive” stuff like gratitude, goal setting, etc.? Yepperz. It’s awesome to see those stats changing with more and more brilliant psychologists studying the science behind living a wonderful life and we have Csikszentmihalyi and Seligman to thank for playing such significant roles.

Now on to Flow.

It’s an *incredible* book that powerfully articulates the science behind how to control our consciousness to more consistently get ourselves into the optimal state of experience known as flow, and, as a result, enjoy our lives more.

The book is packed with Big Ideas and I’m excited to share some of my favorites. If you’re feelin’ it and like going deep into Positive Psychology, it’s definitely worth reading cover to cover.

For now? Let’s get our flow on. :)

Join today and get more wisdom in less time with access to the full library.

JOIN THE WAITLIST
Join the Movement

Access the Philosopher’s Notes library and explore over 700 of the world’s most life-changing books in 20 minutes or less.

Feed your mind. Master your life. Help change the world.
JOIN THE WAITLIST
EXPLORE
#1 Thing 101 Library About
ACCOUNT
Join The Waitlist