http://www.flownetwork.com./
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0060920432/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Flow: A Path to Happiness, 8 Dec 2008
By Beth "happiness searcher" - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Besides having more vowels in his name than any other researcher in the field of positive psychology, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi is probably best known for his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. So what exactlty is flow and what does it have to do with finding happiness?
There are short and long ways to define the concept of flow. The short way is to tell you that flow is roughly the equivalent to what most people refer to as being "in the zone" or "in the groove". More elaborate definitions might be that it is "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people do it even at great cost, for the sheer state of doing it."
Being such a desirable state, flow is naturally linked to happiness. The book feels that the path to happiness is a circuitous one that begins with one achieving control over the "contents of our consciousness". I'm taking that to mean that if I learn to find flow experiences, it will lead to greater happiness.
Know from the get-go that "Flow" is NOT a step-by-step book that gives you tips on how to be happy. Instead, the book summarizes years of research, so what you get when all is said and done, are general principles along with examples of how people have used them to transform their lives. The hope, then, is that you will have enough information in the book to make the transition from principles and theory, to actual practice.
In a nutshell, Flow is a unique and interesting book that examines the process of achieving happiness through the control of one's inner life. I didn't find it as easy to read as some books written by academic individuals, such as David Myer's The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy, but it's definitely a "digestable" read for the general audience.
I'll tell you, though, after reading a lot of positive psychology books, you start to see some common threads. In "Flow", one of the conditions that makes flow occur is that you have a clear goal. And in the book Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World, it reveals that one proven way to increase long-term happiness (according to controlled trials cited in the book) is to set intrinsic/self-concordant goals. With much happiness research coming to similar conclusions, perhaps an important take-home message is this: the kinds of things we choose to spend our time on can have a HUGE impact on how happy we are. Happy trails! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment (1)
61 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Important book, 28 April 2004
By David Jameson (Calgary, AB) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
This book points out something which should be obvious - that in order tohave a happy, fulfilling life you must live your life to have as many"flow" experiences as possible. That is, you must do things that havegoals that you are fully committed to achieving, and that you are highlymotivated to achieve. The human brain has evolved to solve challenges suchas hunting, finding new territory and surviving in inhospitable climates.Having motivating challenges results in a happy and fulfilling life, whilea lack of such factors can lead to depression, fatigue and ill health.
A number of years ago after suffering from suicidal depression, anxietyand chronic illness (CFS/ME), I eventually came to a point where I wasforced to change my lifestyle. Partly by sheer luck, and partly thoughobserving how my lifestyle affected my mental and physical health, Ieventually came to the realisation that having positive goals andmotivation were crucial to maintaining my health, and that a lack of thesefactors lead back down the path of physical and mental deterioration.
In the past few years I have lived my entire life as one long "flow"experience - everything I do is now part of an overall plan for my life,and every day I am working towards short- and long-term goals that I amhighly motivated in. Over the last few years I have completely recoveredfrom CFS/ME and have not suffered from depression, and this is purely downto my change in lifestyle and mental attitude - what Csikszentmihalyidescribes as "flow".
After coming across Csikszentmihalyi's work a few weeks ago, I realisedthat his "flow" concept is exactly the same as the mental attitude andlifestyle factors that have helped me go from chronic ill health anddepression to perfect physical and mental health and living a happy andfulfilling life. If I had read this book 5 years ago, it would have savedme a lot of trouble!
The only minor criticism of the book is it doesn't have any index, butthis doesn't detract much from a very important book that deserves a lotmore recognition. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comments (2)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not a "quick fix", a scientific approach to a better life., 13 Feb 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is an outstanding, well-researched, easy-to-read guide to transcending the limits of joy typically imposed by materialism, class, religion, behaviorism, and self-doubt. Great approach to integrating success in work, love, life; not about finding a trick. It is a tool (not a morality) to increase attention, which provides focus to build skills, which increases the ability to solve tasks of greater complexity, which leads to richer & fuller lives (social, personal, mental, etc.). Not hot air--backed by research. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best examples of an unreliable genre, 18 Sep 2008
By P. Martin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
The self-help genre rightly attracts a lot of criticism; there are a lot of charlatans out there. 'Flow', however is a book which clearly stands out. Csikszentmihalyi speaks with tremendous authority, and his education clearly extends well beyond psychology. But most importantly the book isn't about providing false hope by offering miraculous quick fixes which don't work. The book is just about educating the reader, so they they may make their own informed decisions about how to improve their lives.
The author speaks to you with a very sympathetic tone. He presents a secular, liberal acccount, but what may come as a surprise is that there is quite a lot of moralising in the book. He seems to mention on what seems like every page how much of a waste of time it is to watch television. What he arrives at is hence an unapalogetic, scientifically proven 'elitism'. Studies show that people who spend their time contructively really do find more enjoyment in their lives than people who just drink and watch soap operas.
If you disagree with this sentiment, you would be advised to stay away from this book. Otherwise, this is a must read. The main theme of the book is the paradox of the increasing difficulty finding enjoyment and meaning in an increasingly wealthy and liberated society. As we go further and further in this direction, it's a book which will only get more and more relevant. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Happiness Defined, 18 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Of all the great comments, nobody seems to mention the core of this book is a realistic look at the ever elusive "happiness". The author shows how we are taught to seek the wrong things when we attempt to seek happiness. A very important lesson and one that will stick with you in your struggle to make a happy life. Get it. Read it several times. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding analysis of the creative experience., 15 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Professor Csikszentmihalyi takes a difficult concept and makes it accessible. The ramifications of his work are virtually limitless. We have the power to choose the realities in which we live, and this book offers invaluable insights into creating the optimal reality for each of us. But more than being "inspirational", his work is scientific and critical. A "must read" for the intellectual interested in psychological growth and understanding. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and worthwhile, 18 Sep 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Ignore any reviews which denegrate Csikszentmihalyi's work as "obvious" or the pop-culture equivalent of Zen. This book has a resonance of validity that can only come from extensive study and contemplation. Understanding WHY and HOW other people fill their lives with meaning and purpose can help clarify your own life. Even if you're unable to find anything in this text that can be applied to yourself, it's no less valid a study than, say, appreciating a leaf for its green-ness or how it floats to earth in the fall. This book is such an examination of one of the most basic driving forces of humanity. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing, 9 Dec 2010
By MoQingbird "ndearnshaw" - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
I don't usually give more than four stars to a book - five stars seems to indicate a non-discriminatory fanboy mentality to me - but this book gets five. If I look behind me i can see about six feet of bookshelf filled up with psychology, philosophy, popular science and self-help books that I've bought over the last five years. Flow is the only book of the whole lot that has made an actual practical difference to my life. It's not a 'get happy in 24 hours' instant solution to what ever is bothering you (assuming that you are bothered by something missing in your life). Instead, it takes a good hard look at what exactly happiness is. The key to its success is really simple: it's a lot easier to find something if you know what it is you are looking for. Once you really understand what happiness is - and Flow's definition rings true to the bone for me - then you can go out and find it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars FLOW, 6 Sep 2010
By oliver stevens - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
I think this book is great. One that will become me through practice. Not something thats great then put away and forgotten. Its a hard read though because its not very linear (how I prefer things) so you are given some great knowledge, and for the most part (but not entirely) left to come to your own conclusions. For me in the broadest of terms the books main message is have a long term goal one that is very much meaningful in purpose. Have changeling yet intrinsically rewarding hobbies (in other words make good of "leisure time", which he proves we do not actually do!), and to create the elements of flow (see book) in daily life (routine tasks etc). In fact in an even broader sense, the books message could be said to say "have a life of engagement/involvement/action" but this doesn't do the book justice. He goes into topics such as consciousness, attention, how the the planet is not designed for our happiness, a loss of 'self', motivation, etc. All in all though its a MUST READ if you are looking for a real solid way to enhance your own genuine and personal happiness. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars A deep classic - no quick fixes here, 9 July 2010
By J. Robinson "Athena" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) This review is from: Flow: Psychology of Happiness (Paperback)
I read 'Flow' in 1993 and it had a great impact on the way I approached life. But this is not a self-help book nor is it a quick fix to Happiness. Nor is it an easy read. It is a scientific investigation by a well-known, respected psychologist.
What this book reveals is a fascinating two decades worth of dedicated investigation into what in human experience seems to bring happiness - i.e. a state of deep concentration and absorption, creativity and total involvement in life which takes us out of ourselves. The author provides some fascinating examples of moments of flow.
These moments of flow are when one feels joy, feels totally in control, transcending the mundane. This can happen at any moment e.g. listening to music, doing something one loves, seeing something beautiful in nature or communing with a person you love and many many more situations where you are totally in the present moment - a total state of flow. All of us have at one time or another experienced moments of flow in our lives but can we sustain it? The question is, how can we stay in that state more often?
We can train ourselves to be in the state of flow more regularly by training the mind/consciousness. All you need is the mind and a willingness to learn to concentrate.
Read the book and you will understand a little more about what makes people happy. Then experiment ...
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for a happy existence, 17 Sep 2009
By Charles Elford (Whitstable, Kent) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Quite heavy in places and a bit academic but a very good read for those wanting to achieve optimal experience in their fields just as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor did in his. Black Mahler the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story Charles Elford Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books of our age, 6 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
If you've ever wanted to achieve happiness in life -- not just fun or pleasure but true, profound happiness -- you should read this book. Since perhaps no desire than this one is more fundamental to every human being's struggle, it's hard to imagine a more important subject for a book.
Csikszentmihalyi's observations, as he notes himself, are nothing new; you can find them in an array of ancient philosophies and religions, especially Eastern ones. But what makes this book so compelling and so important for contemporary readers is that he has arrived at his conclusions through over two decades of scientific research. Therefore, they are endowed with an authority and a clarity of definition which members of our cynical, secular society often find frustratingly lacking in philosophies from other times and other places. At the same time, this scientific dovetailing with the likes of Buddhism and Taoism and other systems of thought lends those "religions" greater substance and relevance for contemporary readers.
Some enlightened souls may find the revelations here less than revelatory. Other people may find that they suddenly hear the lyrics that have been sung to them in chorus after chorus by ancient and mystical voices, and will recognize the common truths of those verses for the first time. Those are the ones whose lives will be changed by reading this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A 'fluid' read, 2 April 2008
By N. Marik "Neelesh" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Reading this book itself has been a 'flow' experience, which is a testament to Mr Csikszentmihalyi's (if that is not a mouthful, what is!) writing and his choice of the topic itself.
The book celebrates the cardinal importance of the quality of experience over conventional success metrics/ outcome norms that people pursue.
My key takeaways from the book are:
1) The 'flow zone' definition on the skills-challenges 2x2
2) The role of complexity and the modeling of 'dissipative structures' in creating order out of chaos (read psychic entropy)
3) The principle of the 'autotelic' self, and mindful challenge as the ultimate source of contentment
Written in a easy paced, intuitive style, this is a highly effective read.
PS: The 4 pronged classification of all the world's 'games': agon, alea, ilinx and mimicry is quite novel Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Concisely and clearly illuminates how our minds operate., 8 Aug 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is an extraordinary book. The author's writing style is unusually concise and he is able to explain complex ideas in a simple and understandable style. The concept of flow is intuitively very appealing. The author conducted an apparently well structured empirical study of the causes and conditions that resulted in "optimal experience" (ie happiness) and reached some insightful and convincing conclusions. The ability to achieve "optimal experience" is tightly linked to the ability to focus on fulfilling personally determined goals. Although the book is useful as a personal blueprint for achieving "optimal experience" I found more facinating his compelling arguments about the functioning of the human mind and spirit. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent insight into personal and social motivation, 13 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
excellent insight into personal and social motivation; a valuable empirical study of happiness Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A pearl!, 11 Dec 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is the book to read if you are an athlete, a business person or anybody else who think about your own performance. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars .Eastern secret of Moderation defined scientifically, 21 July 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Of the hundreds of psychology, new age, or self help books that we have to choose from, FLOW is of the few that is absolutely a Must. It defines that which we all seek from birth to death: HAPPINESS. It defines what makes happiness, why we feel it, and why we do not. And when I applied the author's theories in my own life, I did indeed find that what he wrote is rare and precious truth. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely first-rate!, 9 May 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
The author explains the flow state as that period when the task at hand is challenging enough to totally engage us, rescuing us from boredom, but not so challenging that we fail, frustration setting in. Between the two extremes of boredom (too easy) and frustration (too hard) we find the flow channel -- blissful execution, seemingly effortless progress, and an overall feeling of happiness. The author goes on to explain learning as excursions out of the flow channel -- becoming too comfortable (bored) so that we seek harder challenges, or seeking more skills so that we can overcome the frustration of failing at difficult tasks. Hence all learning is seen as driving us back into the flow channel from either above or below. There is even a beautiful graph to illustrate the process. This book gives you a new way of looking at the world, and makes you wonder why we all can't spend more time in the channel being happier. Read it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Important physiologic findings., 4 Dec 1996
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
The author's findings might well be taken into consideration by virtual reality and video game developers, since "flow" is a neurophysiologic event which may be potentiated by external stimuli. Flow is about being fully engaged - which can result in happiness, but more important, satisfaction, fulfillment, self-realization. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE FLOW NETWORK, 16 Aug 1997
By A Customer
Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com/
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Every self-knowing person should read this book, 16 April 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
For me, this book provided my first insight into how people really become happy. We're happy when we are in flow. Unlike many of the "happy psychology" books that are available, this one feels true. It's also backed up by real research; the author is not a pop psychology dude but a real researcher. (I understand from the university psych community that M.C.'s work may not be universally admired, but that may simply be because it is approachable and understandable by your average educated person.)
It's rare to find a book that agrees with both what I think and what I feel. For anyone who wants to have new insights into what makes us feel happy (and who doesn't?), I highly recommend this book.
Additionally, I recommend his latest book, Creativity. I would skip much of his second popular book, Finding Flow, which gets into a lot of metaphysical stuff that doesn't agree with either how I feel or how I think. Flow, however, is the key to understanding the rest of his work.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE FLOW NETWORK, 16 Aug 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Surfing the Slipstream of Sanctity, 1 Mar 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Flow cascades with liberating insight on how to derive real enjoyment moment-by-moment and taste the true richness of living. Csikszentmihalyi's (pronounced chick-sent-me-high) intelligence tuned my worldview to the positive flux of a pleasurable state of mind marked by concentration and deep satisfaction. With this keen manual for optimal existence, I now set "autotelic" challenges via an action system that accentuates the ebb between being and becoming. The rewards are powerful; a contented context - a connecting order that illuminates meaning and the potential to transform the entirety of life into a single flow activity that provides constant evolutionary purpose. An essential emanation for the idea generation. **** Mark Riva Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Why is the one and two star reviews for this item not available?, 20 July 2008
By Asle Gundersby (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback) (from here Amazon UK review)
I want this book. I am going to by it, because I have heard a lot positive about it. But I would also like to read what the people who didn't like it have to say.
Why isn't the one and two star reviews for this item available?
Is it just a coindidence?
5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing, 9 Dec 2010
By MoQingbird "ndearnshaw" - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
I don't usually give more than four stars to a book - five stars seems to indicate a non-discriminatory fanboy mentality to me - but this book gets five. If I look behind me i can see about six feet of bookshelf filled up with psychology, philosophy, popular science and self-help books that I've bought over the last five years. Flow is the only book of the whole lot that has made an actual practical difference to my life. It's not a 'get happy in 24 hours' instant solution to what ever is bothering you (assuming that you are bothered by something missing in your life). Instead, it takes a good hard look at what exactly happiness is. The key to its success is really simple: it's a lot easier to find something if you know what it is you are looking for. Once you really understand what happiness is - and Flow's definition rings true to the bone for me - then you can go out and find it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, 13 Nov 2010
By a hopeful reader (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
It really is a brilliant introduction to the concept of flow - optimal experience. He makes a very convincing case and offers a lot of evidence. However I would have liked to have seen more in the way ofpractical advice. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars FLOW, 6 Sep 2010
By oliver stevens - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
I think this book is great. One that will become me through practice. Not something thats great then put away and forgotten. Its a hard read though because its not very linear (how I prefer things) so you are given some great knowledge, and for the most part (but not entirely) left to come to your own conclusions. For me in the broadest of terms the books main message is have a long term goal one that is very much meaningful in purpose. Have changeling yet intrinsically rewarding hobbies (in other words make good of "leisure time", which he proves we do not actually do!), and to create the elements of flow (see book) in daily life (routine tasks etc). In fact in an even broader sense, the books message could be said to say "have a life of engagement/involvement/action" but this doesn't do the book justice. He goes into topics such as consciousness, attention, how the the planet is not designed for our happiness, a loss of 'self', motivation, etc. All in all though its a MUST READ if you are looking for a real solid way to enhance your own genuine and personal happiness. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars A deep classic - no quick fixes here, 9 July 2010
By J. Robinson "Athena" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) This review is from: Flow: Psychology of Happiness (Paperback)
I read 'Flow' in 1993 and it had a great impact on the way I approached life. But this is not a self-help book nor is it a quick fix to Happiness. Nor is it an easy read. It is a scientific investigation by a well-known, respected psychologist.
What this book reveals is a fascinating two decades worth of dedicated investigation into what in human experience seems to bring happiness - i.e. a state of deep concentration and absorption, creativity and total involvement in life which takes us out of ourselves. The author provides some fascinating examples of moments of flow.
These moments of flow are when one feels joy, feels totally in control, transcending the mundane. This can happen at any moment e.g. listening to music, doing something one loves, seeing something beautiful in nature or communing with a person you love and many many more situations where you are totally in the present moment - a total state of flow. All of us have at one time or another experienced moments of flow in our lives but can we sustain it? The question is, how can we stay in that state more often?
We can train ourselves to be in the state of flow more regularly by training the mind/consciousness. All you need is the mind and a willingness to learn to concentrate.
Read the book and you will understand a little more about what makes people happy. Then experiment ... Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars very heavy going - and not a self help book, 18 Jun 2010
By Bethan Lloyd "Bethan" (Caerphilly) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Be warned - this book is very heavy going. It is clearly well researched, but you have to read it slowly. More like an academic thesis than light reading.
In fact, as I think a previous reviewer has said, it isn't your typical self help book. In fact, if you are looking for a book which will give you practical tips on how to improve your life, or your outlook on life, I doubt that this is the book for you.
The book really has only one central message - participation in "flow" activities tends to make you happy. These are activities that are goal orientated and challenging enough to absorb all your attention such that, when engaged in them, you cease to notice the passage of time. For me, it is playing the violin. For others it may, for example, be art or a challenging sport. They tend to be active rather than passive activities - i.e. producing a painting as opposed to visiting a gallery, making music as opposed to listening to it.
So I guess you can read the book and take away this one nugget of information, or you could take my word for it and spend the time you would have spent reading the book engaging in your favourite "flow" activity instead! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4.0 out of 5 stars Paul's view.., 1 Jun 2010
By Paul Persad (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: Psychology of Happiness (Paperback)
A very good read, with very valid points, evidence and deductions.
Flow: has a definite, scientific, slightly logical approach and reasoning. If you are looking for a slightly more metaphysical approach, (more depth into how things just seriously drop into place when you experience 'flow' across a range of consecutive life issues)you might not necessarily get the feel; however this is still a very good book, well written and formulated. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for a happy existence, 17 Sep 2009
By Charles Elford (Whitstable, Kent) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Quite heavy in places and a bit academic but a very good read for those wanting to achieve optimal experience in their fields just as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor did in his. Black Mahler the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story Charles Elford Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Flow: A Path to Happiness, 8 Dec 2008
By Beth "happiness searcher" - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Besides having more vowels in his name than any other researcher in the field of positive psychology, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi is probably best known for his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. So what exactlty is flow and what does it have to do with finding happiness?
There are short and long ways to define the concept of flow. The short way is to tell you that flow is roughly the equivalent to what most people refer to as being "in the zone" or "in the groove". More elaborate definitions might be that it is "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people do it even at great cost, for the sheer state of doing it."
Being such a desirable state, flow is naturally linked to happiness. The book feels that the path to happiness is a circuitous one that begins with one achieving control over the "contents of our consciousness". I'm taking that to mean that if I learn to find flow experiences, it will lead to greater happiness.
Know from the get-go that "Flow" is NOT a step-by-step book that gives you tips on how to be happy. Instead, the book summarizes years of research, so what you get when all is said and done, are general principles along with examples of how people have used them to transform their lives. The hope, then, is that you will have enough information in the book to make the transition from principles and theory, to actual practice.
In a nutshell, Flow is a unique and interesting book that examines the process of achieving happiness through the control of one's inner life. I didn't find it as easy to read as some books written by academic individuals, such as David Myer's The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy, but it's definitely a "digestable" read for the general audience.
I'll tell you, though, after reading a lot of positive psychology books, you start to see some common threads. In "Flow", one of the conditions that makes flow occur is that you have a clear goal. And in the book Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World, it reveals that one proven way to increase long-term happiness (according to controlled trials cited in the book) is to set intrinsic/self-concordant goals. With much happiness research coming to similar conclusions, perhaps an important take-home message is this: the kinds of things we choose to spend our time on can have a HUGE impact on how happy we are. Happy trails! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment (1)
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best examples of an unreliable genre, 18 Sep 2008
By P. Martin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
The self-help genre rightly attracts a lot of criticism; there are a lot of charlatans out there. 'Flow', however is a book which clearly stands out. Csikszentmihalyi speaks with tremendous authority, and his education clearly extends well beyond psychology. But most importantly the book isn't about providing false hope by offering miraculous quick fixes which don't work. The book is just about educating the reader, so they they may make their own informed decisions about how to improve their lives.
The author speaks to you with a very sympathetic tone. He presents a secular, liberal acccount, but what may come as a surprise is that there is quite a lot of moralising in the book. He seems to mention on what seems like every page how much of a waste of time it is to watch television. What he arrives at is hence an unapalogetic, scientifically proven 'elitism'. Studies show that people who spend their time contructively really do find more enjoyment in their lives than people who just drink and watch soap operas.
If you disagree with this sentiment, you would be advised to stay away from this book. Otherwise, this is a must read. The main theme of the book is the paradox of the increasing difficulty finding enjoyment and meaning in an increasingly wealthy and liberated society. As we go further and further in this direction, it's a book which will only get more and more relevant.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A 'fluid' read, 2 April 2008
By N. Marik "Neelesh" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Reading this book itself has been a 'flow' experience, which is a testament to Mr Csikszentmihalyi's (if that is not a mouthful, what is!) writing and his choice of the topic itself.
The book celebrates the cardinal importance of the quality of experience over conventional success metrics/ outcome norms that people pursue.
My key takeaways from the book are:
1) The 'flow zone' definition on the skills-challenges 2x2
2) The role of complexity and the modeling of 'dissipative structures' in creating order out of chaos (read psychic entropy)
3) The principle of the 'autotelic' self, and mindful challenge as the ultimate source of contentment
Written in a easy paced, intuitive style, this is a highly effective read.
PS: The 4 pronged classification of all the world's 'games': agon, alea, ilinx and mimicry is quite novel Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An important book for sports people, 8 Feb 2007
By W. Goodman (Cambridge, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Csikszentmihalyi IS the authority on this subject and as a keen rower I have always had an interest in The Flow or Zone as its known in sport. This book is also a vital resource for anyone with an interest in their sport and how to achieve a peak performance. I have always found it curious as to why when I'm in The Flow whilst rowing I feel euphoric and so complete. This book goes along way to explaining why. Roy Palmer's Zone Mind, Zone Body is an excellent companion to this book with its practical techniques to get into The Flow. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
42 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid, fascinating, work, 4 Jun 2006
By Dr. Ian K. MCDONALD (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
I read Flow partically as a self-improvement book, and partially because several people involved in game design (particularly "Theory of Fun") recommended it.
It's really interesting. Solidly researched stuff by a proper psychologist looking into what makes people happier. And it's the same thing as makes a big difference to me at the end of a day by myself - if I've set myself clear goals of what to do, and I know whether or not I've met them, I feel a lot happier with myself than if I just potter around, even if I accomplish exactly the same thing.
Csikszentmihalyi (Chick-sent-mi-hal-yi)'s theory is that what makes people happy isn't simple pleasure, but the "flow" state they attain if:
This state might not be immensely pleasurable at the time, but it makes you forget all your worries, and gives you a great sense of control.
And somehow, this managed to cover a 300-page paperback book saying this, and yet very little of it was wasted. It goes into great detail about how many different activities might produce this feeling (not least games, which are designed specifically to produce it). A real insight - and it explains why most of us want jobs which challenge and stretch us.
He only really goes off the boil at the end, when he suggests that in order to give life meaning (as a materialist, he does not believe it has one already) you choose something which gives you meaningful goals with clear feedback for your entire life. But preferably without choosing the goal of racial purity (or something similarly destructive). The worrying point is that it's just as possible to achieve flow doing something harmful as it is doing something good. He tries to follow Viktor Frankl ("There is no single meaning of life. The meaning of life is found moment by moment") but ends up with "There's only one way of life, and that's your own". Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
61 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Important book, 28 April 2004
By David Jameson (Calgary, AB) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
This book points out something which should be obvious - that in order tohave a happy, fulfilling life you must live your life to have as many"flow" experiences as possible. That is, you must do things that havegoals that you are fully committed to achieving, and that you are highlymotivated to achieve. The human brain has evolved to solve challenges suchas hunting, finding new territory and surviving in inhospitable climates.Having motivating challenges results in a happy and fulfilling life, whilea lack of such factors can lead to depression, fatigue and ill health.
A number of years ago after suffering from suicidal depression, anxietyand chronic illness (CFS/ME), I eventually came to a point where I wasforced to change my lifestyle. Partly by sheer luck, and partly thoughobserving how my lifestyle affected my mental and physical health, Ieventually came to the realisation that having positive goals andmotivation were crucial to maintaining my health, and that a lack of thesefactors lead back down the path of physical and mental deterioration.
In the past few years I have lived my entire life as one long "flow"experience - everything I do is now part of an overall plan for my life,and every day I am working towards short- and long-term goals that I amhighly motivated in. Over the last few years I have completely recoveredfrom CFS/ME and have not suffered from depression, and this is purely downto my change in lifestyle and mental attitude - what Csikszentmihalyidescribes as "flow".
After coming across Csikszentmihalyi's work a few weeks ago, I realisedthat his "flow" concept is exactly the same as the mental attitude andlifestyle factors that have helped me go from chronic ill health anddepression to perfect physical and mental health and living a happy andfulfilling life. If I had read this book 5 years ago, it would have savedme a lot of trouble!
The only minor criticism of the book is it doesn't have any index, butthis doesn't detract much from a very important book that deserves a lotmore recognition. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comments (2)
44 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Explains the mechanics, not the spirit., 1 May 2003
By jag (london) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
According to the author, flow is a state of mind when it is totally engrossed in an activity that it looses track of itself and becomes one with the activity being performed. The author supports this with excerpts from interviews with people (rock climbers, artists, musicians etc) who are involved in flow-producing activities.
However, the author never addresses why a person would choose one flow producing activity over another or should people cram as many flow producing activities in their lives as possible. Instead the author attempts to apply the conditions that create flow to turn even the most mundane activities into flow producing activities! In effect, he is saying, "Stop whining you lot, use these techniques known to produce flow to make your job more interesting". The author contends that people are dissatisfied because of lack of flow in their activities which gets them bored sooner or later. Cant people be bored of always being in flow too? How is it different from being temporarily entertained by a good film?
The work is good in that it documents the mechanics of flow but disappoints by not discussing the role of passion/liking of the performer for his chosen activity - which is probably why he repeatedly engages in it; flow being a pleasant by-product but not an end in itself.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment (1)
12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring stuff!, 11 Feb 2000
By veehupa@hotmail.com (Turku, Finland) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Many of us have at least sometimes had that exhilarating experience; the distinct feeling of control, satisfaction and harmony that come when we are totally concentrating and toatally committed to whatever purpose-driven activity we are doing. That's what Mihalyi Csikszenmihalyi calls the FLOW-experience and that is what this book is all about. If you have ever had an experience that even remotely fits this description, or if you've just pondered upon the meaning of life in general, read this book. C. talks about how the quality of our lives can be increased if we are able to experience 'flow' in as many situations in life as possible. It can be anything from rock-climbing or making a speech to listening to music or just sitting and watching a nice view. Even stressful and unfomfortable experiences can be transformed into flow-experiences, which the writer shows with the many examples from real life that follow throughout the book. The flow-experience very often has little to do with objective circumstances such as time and place. This is not at all one of those typical self-help books that come with straight-forward answers to complex problems, but more like a sientific study presented in an concentrated, "easy-to-read" way. What gives the book incresing credibility is also the many years of study, interviews and research that C. has put in to find out more about this subject. Althoguh I didn't agree with everything C. suggests (his view I thought was sometimes even overly optimistic and positive) and thought that he over-simplified matters too much at times, this book definately gave me new insights and changed the way at look some things in life. I agree with C. that we are able to get much more out of our lives if we learn how to control our conciuosness better. A book that most readers who are intrested in this subject will find a valuable read, even ifthey don't agree with all of C;s views. I strongly recommend! Even for younger readers like myself (20). Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
2 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars This book is terrible. I'm amazed at the rambling jibberish, 2 Sep 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Talk about a rambling piece of garbage. Mr. Csikszentmihalyi (who came up with that rediculous spelling?) has taken advantage of our capitalist society while promoting pure socialistic undertones in his book. Don't fall for the jargon. There is nothing here that is tangible or practical. It is by far the worst book I have ever read. Please spare yourself. There are many other self-help books out there with much more to offer. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comments (3)
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars looking for the meaning of life?, 16 April 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
if you have ever wandered in the wastelands of mental illness and depression; and wondered what is the point of it all, and why its worth doing anything at all, just take a little while to read this book. it changes everything. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Happiness Defined, 18 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Of all the great comments, nobody seems to mention the core of this book is a realistic look at the ever elusive "happiness". The author shows how we are taught to seek the wrong things when we attempt to seek happiness. A very important lesson and one that will stick with you in your struggle to make a happy life. Get it. Read it several times. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding analysis of the creative experience., 15 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Professor Csikszentmihalyi takes a difficult concept and makes it accessible. The ramifications of his work are virtually limitless. We have the power to choose the realities in which we live, and this book offers invaluable insights into creating the optimal reality for each of us. But more than being "inspirational", his work is scientific and critical. A "must read" for the intellectual interested in psychological growth and understanding.
Customer Reviews
Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness
38 Reviews
5 star: (24)
4 star: (8)
3 star: (4)
2 star: (1)
1 star: (1)
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)
Share your thoughts with other customers
Create your own review Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews
› See most helpful viewpoints
‹ Previous
1 2 3 4
Next › Most Helpful First
Newest First
0 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring book not only in Transforming Work..., 21 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Flow and flow dynamics, dissipative self-organization in complexe systems have attracted me more than 10 years ago. As a Consultant for transforming work and leadership I worked with various insights - also Mihaly's - successfully, but found that there is a "higher non-evolutive" C3-order (Creator, Creation, Creature) that cannot be modelled by simplified darwinian chaos theories. This step however was only possibly by considering what Mihaly is writing about. Thanks to that I joined my partner, Dr. Peter Meier, to further develop his APS Applied Personal Science to model real human systems from their (predictible) outcome! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent insight into personal and social motivation, 13 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
excellent insight into personal and social motivation; a valuable empirical study of happiness Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Willie Loman takes up zen philosophy, 13 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
I enjoyed the first few chapters of this book but became increasingly frustrated with the shallowness of the author's research and thought. He cites many studies by his followers which are bound to prove his point. More seriously, he seems completely unfamiliar with both serious questions about the meaning of life and the serious exploitative meaninglessness of many jobs and pastimes offered to us by late twentieth-century capitalism. Sure, you can find flow while entering data or pushing papers, but is this really how you want to spend your life? Wouldn't you rather be a professor at the University of Chicago, surrounded by disciples whose research validates your own ideas--like Csikszentmihalyi? Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books of our age, 6 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
If you've ever wanted to achieve happiness in life -- not just fun or pleasure but true, profound happiness -- you should read this book. Since perhaps no desire than this one is more fundamental to every human being's struggle, it's hard to imagine a more important subject for a book.
Csikszentmihalyi's observations, as he notes himself, are nothing new; you can find them in an array of ancient philosophies and religions, especially Eastern ones. But what makes this book so compelling and so important for contemporary readers is that he has arrived at his conclusions through over two decades of scientific research. Therefore, they are endowed with an authority and a clarity of definition which members of our cynical, secular society often find frustratingly lacking in philosophies from other times and other places. At the same time, this scientific dovetailing with the likes of Buddhism and Taoism and other systems of thought lends those "religions" greater substance and relevance for contemporary readers.
Some enlightened souls may find the revelations here less than revelatory. Other people may find that they suddenly hear the lyrics that have been sung to them in chorus after chorus by ancient and mystical voices, and will recognize the common truths of those verses for the first time. Those are the ones whose lives will be changed by reading this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and worthwhile, 18 Sep 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Ignore any reviews which denegrate Csikszentmihalyi's work as "obvious" or the pop-culture equivalent of Zen. This book has a resonance of validity that can only come from extensive study and contemplation. Understanding WHY and HOW other people fill their lives with meaning and purpose can help clarify your own life. Even if you're unable to find anything in this text that can be applied to yourself, it's no less valid a study than, say, appreciating a leaf for its green-ness or how it floats to earth in the fall. This book is such an examination of one of the most basic driving forces of humanity. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Pop Zen, 7 May 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
If you are familiar with Zen thought, 'Flow' will have a familiar ring to it. Csikszentmihalyi pretty much just condenses and modernizes Zen philosophy, then restates it. Even if I wasn't versed in Zen teachings, 'Flow' would still come across as a little obvious. Of course one's life and happiness is based on one's preception of it. Csikszentmihalyi seems to have one major point to make, then every remaining chapter is just a reiteration of it. The book is easy to read and a little 'pop culturish.' Csikszentmihalyi quotes 'scientific' research, but I'm always wary of an author that cites and summarizes a multitude of studies to prove a point. Things are rarely that clear cut. Any psychological study can be used prove a theory depending on how the results are interpreted. Csikszentmihalyi also starts to get into other fields to help explain flow, such as anthropology. He should stick to things he knows, psychology. If you are already in the 'flow' this book won't let you understand it any better, you already know. If you're unhappy this book will explain to you why the people who are, are. Will reading this book help you achieve happiness? I have my doubts, but you have to start somewhere. If you want to be more challenged and get into the essence of flow, try reading about Zen philosophy. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Every self-knowing person should read this book, 16 April 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
For me, this book provided my first insight into how people really become happy. We're happy when we are in flow. Unlike many of the "happy psychology" books that are available, this one feels true. It's also backed up by real research; the author is not a pop psychology dude but a real researcher. (I understand from the university psych community that M.C.'s work may not be universally admired, but that may simply be because it is approachable and understandable by your average educated person.)
It's rare to find a book that agrees with both what I think and what I feel. For anyone who wants to have new insights into what makes us feel happy (and who doesn't?), I highly recommend this book.
Additionally, I recommend his latest book, Creativity. I would skip much of his second popular book, Finding Flow, which gets into a lot of metaphysical stuff that doesn't agree with either how I feel or how I think. Flow, however, is the key to understanding the rest of his work.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent description, Doctor, where's the prescription?, 6 Mar 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Professor Csikszentmihalyi has done a great service by distilling his decades of research into happiness and satisfaction into a well constructed single volume. He writes with wit, insight, and character. He vast learning is often evident but never overbearing.
The book ultimately fails, however, for it invests all of its considerable power in describing Flow and convincing the reader to seek this optimal experience but does too little to help us on the path toward experiencing it. This flaw is somewhat healed in his later books, but perhaps the key can not be conveyed in print.
That is why I am so busy teaching and consulting on the topic.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A pearl!, 11 Dec 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is the book to read if you are an athlete, a business person or anybody else who think about your own performance. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE FLOW NETWORK, 16 Aug 1997
By A Customer
Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com/.
Customer Reviews
Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness
38 Reviews
5 star: (24)
4 star: (8)
3 star: (4)
2 star: (1)
1 star: (1)
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)
Share your thoughts with other customers
Create your own review Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews
› See most helpful viewpoints
‹ Previous
1 2 3 4
Next › Most Helpful First
Newest First
0 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring book not only in Transforming Work..., 21 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Flow and flow dynamics, dissipative self-organization in complexe systems have attracted me more than 10 years ago. As a Consultant for transforming work and leadership I worked with various insights - also Mihaly's - successfully, but found that there is a "higher non-evolutive" C3-order (Creator, Creation, Creature) that cannot be modelled by simplified darwinian chaos theories. This step however was only possibly by considering what Mihaly is writing about. Thanks to that I joined my partner, Dr. Peter Meier, to further develop his APS Applied Personal Science to model real human systems from their (predictible) outcome! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent insight into personal and social motivation, 13 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
excellent insight into personal and social motivation; a valuable empirical study of happiness Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Willie Loman takes up zen philosophy, 13 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
I enjoyed the first few chapters of this book but became increasingly frustrated with the shallowness of the author's research and thought. He cites many studies by his followers which are bound to prove his point. More seriously, he seems completely unfamiliar with both serious questions about the meaning of life and the serious exploitative meaninglessness of many jobs and pastimes offered to us by late twentieth-century capitalism. Sure, you can find flow while entering data or pushing papers, but is this really how you want to spend your life? Wouldn't you rather be a professor at the University of Chicago, surrounded by disciples whose research validates your own ideas--like Csikszentmihalyi? Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books of our age, 6 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
If you've ever wanted to achieve happiness in life -- not just fun or pleasure but true, profound happiness -- you should read this book. Since perhaps no desire than this one is more fundamental to every human being's struggle, it's hard to imagine a more important subject for a book.
Csikszentmihalyi's observations, as he notes himself, are nothing new; you can find them in an array of ancient philosophies and religions, especially Eastern ones. But what makes this book so compelling and so important for contemporary readers is that he has arrived at his conclusions through over two decades of scientific research. Therefore, they are endowed with an authority and a clarity of definition which members of our cynical, secular society often find frustratingly lacking in philosophies from other times and other places. At the same time, this scientific dovetailing with the likes of Buddhism and Taoism and other systems of thought lends those "religions" greater substance and relevance for contemporary readers.
Some enlightened souls may find the revelations here less than revelatory. Other people may find that they suddenly hear the lyrics that have been sung to them in chorus after chorus by ancient and mystical voices, and will recognize the common truths of those verses for the first time. Those are the ones whose lives will be changed by reading this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and worthwhile, 18 Sep 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Ignore any reviews which denegrate Csikszentmihalyi's work as "obvious" or the pop-culture equivalent of Zen. This book has a resonance of validity that can only come from extensive study and contemplation. Understanding WHY and HOW other people fill their lives with meaning and purpose can help clarify your own life. Even if you're unable to find anything in this text that can be applied to yourself, it's no less valid a study than, say, appreciating a leaf for its green-ness or how it floats to earth in the fall. This book is such an examination of one of the most basic driving forces of humanity. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Pop Zen, 7 May 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
If you are familiar with Zen thought, 'Flow' will have a familiar ring to it. Csikszentmihalyi pretty much just condenses and modernizes Zen philosophy, then restates it. Even if I wasn't versed in Zen teachings, 'Flow' would still come across as a little obvious. Of course one's life and happiness is based on one's preception of it. Csikszentmihalyi seems to have one major point to make, then every remaining chapter is just a reiteration of it. The book is easy to read and a little 'pop culturish.' Csikszentmihalyi quotes 'scientific' research, but I'm always wary of an author that cites and summarizes a multitude of studies to prove a point. Things are rarely that clear cut. Any psychological study can be used prove a theory depending on how the results are interpreted. Csikszentmihalyi also starts to get into other fields to help explain flow, such as anthropology. He should stick to things he knows, psychology. If you are already in the 'flow' this book won't let you understand it any better, you already know. If you're unhappy this book will explain to you why the people who are, are. Will reading this book help you achieve happiness? I have my doubts, but you have to start somewhere. If you want to be more challenged and get into the essence of flow, try reading about Zen philosophy. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Every self-knowing person should read this book, 16 April 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
For me, this book provided my first insight into how people really become happy. We're happy when we are in flow. Unlike many of the "happy psychology" books that are available, this one feels true. It's also backed up by real research; the author is not a pop psychology dude but a real researcher. (I understand from the university psych community that M.C.'s work may not be universally admired, but that may simply be because it is approachable and understandable by your average educated person.)
It's rare to find a book that agrees with both what I think and what I feel. For anyone who wants to have new insights into what makes us feel happy (and who doesn't?), I highly recommend this book.
Additionally, I recommend his latest book, Creativity. I would skip much of his second popular book, Finding Flow, which gets into a lot of metaphysical stuff that doesn't agree with either how I feel or how I think. Flow, however, is the key to understanding the rest of his work.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent description, Doctor, where's the prescription?, 6 Mar 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Professor Csikszentmihalyi has done a great service by distilling his decades of research into happiness and satisfaction into a well constructed single volume. He writes with wit, insight, and character. He vast learning is often evident but never overbearing.
The book ultimately fails, however, for it invests all of its considerable power in describing Flow and convincing the reader to seek this optimal experience but does too little to help us on the path toward experiencing it. This flaw is somewhat healed in his later books, but perhaps the key can not be conveyed in print.
That is why I am so busy teaching and consulting on the topic.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Concisely and clearly illuminates how our minds operate., 8 Aug 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is an extraordinary book. The author's writing style is unusually concise and he is able to explain complex ideas in a simple and understandable style. The concept of flow is intuitively very appealing. The author conducted an apparently well structured empirical study of the causes and conditions that resulted in "optimal experience" (ie happiness) and reached some insightful and convincing conclusions. The ability to achieve "optimal experience" is tightly linked to the ability to focus on fulfilling personally determined goals. Although the book is useful as a personal blueprint for achieving "optimal experience" I found more facinating his compelling arguments about the functioning of the human mind and spirit. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars .Eastern secret of Moderation defined scientifically, 21 July 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Of the hundreds of psychology, new age, or self help books that we have to choose from, FLOW is of the few that is absolutely a Must. It defines that which we all seek from birth to death: HAPPINESS. It defines what makes happiness, why we feel it, and why we do not. And when I applied the author's theories in my own life, I did indeed find that what he wrote is rare and precious truth. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely first-rate!, 9 May 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
The author explains the flow state as that period when the task at hand is challenging enough to totally engage us, rescuing us from boredom, but not so challenging that we fail, frustration setting in. Between the two extremes of boredom (too easy) and frustration (too hard) we find the flow channel -- blissful execution, seemingly effortless progress, and an overall feeling of happiness. The author goes on to explain learning as excursions out of the flow channel -- becoming too comfortable (bored) so that we seek harder challenges, or seeking more skills so that we can overcome the frustration of failing at difficult tasks. Hence all learning is seen as driving us back into the flow channel from either above or below. There is even a beautiful graph to illustrate the process. This book gives you a new way of looking at the world, and makes you wonder why we all can't spend more time in the channel being happier. Read it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Surfing the Slipstream of Sanctity, 1 Mar 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Flow cascades with liberating insight on how to derive real enjoyment moment-by-moment and taste the true richness of living. Csikszentmihalyi's (pronounced chick-sent-me-high) intelligence tuned my worldview to the positive flux of a pleasurable state of mind marked by concentration and deep satisfaction. With this keen manual for optimal existence, I now set "autotelic" challenges via an action system that accentuates the ebb between being and becoming. The rewards are powerful; a contented context - a connecting order that illuminates meaning and the potential to transform the entirety of life into a single flow activity that provides constant evolutionary purpose. An essential emanation for the idea generation. **** Mark Riva Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not a "quick fix", a scientific approach to a better life., 13 Feb 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is an outstanding, well-researched, easy-to-read guide to transcending the limits of joy typically imposed by materialism, class, religion, behaviorism, and self-doubt. Great approach to integrating success in work, love, life; not about finding a trick. It is a tool (not a morality) to increase attention, which provides focus to build skills, which increases the ability to solve tasks of greater complexity, which leads to richer & fuller lives (social, personal, mental, etc.). Not hot air--backed by research. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Important physiologic findings., 4 Dec 1996
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
The author's findings might well be taken into consideration by virtual reality and video game developers, since "flow" is a neurophysiologic event which may be potentiated by external stimuli. Flow is about being fully engaged - which can result in happiness, but more important, satisfaction, fulfillment, self-realization. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent treatise on happiness., 21 Nov 1996
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
The optimal flow model is an excellent conceptualization of our search for happiness. However, the exemplars of this model include the Nazi war criminal Eichmann, which made me question mine and the author's notion of happiness.
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A pearl!, 11 Dec 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is the book to read if you are an athlete, a business person or anybody else who think about your own performance. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE FLOW NETWORK, 16 Aug 1997
By A Customer
Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0060920432/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk
28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Flow: A Path to Happiness, 8 Dec 2008
By Beth "happiness searcher" - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Besides having more vowels in his name than any other researcher in the field of positive psychology, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi is probably best known for his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. So what exactlty is flow and what does it have to do with finding happiness?
There are short and long ways to define the concept of flow. The short way is to tell you that flow is roughly the equivalent to what most people refer to as being "in the zone" or "in the groove". More elaborate definitions might be that it is "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people do it even at great cost, for the sheer state of doing it."
Being such a desirable state, flow is naturally linked to happiness. The book feels that the path to happiness is a circuitous one that begins with one achieving control over the "contents of our consciousness". I'm taking that to mean that if I learn to find flow experiences, it will lead to greater happiness.
Know from the get-go that "Flow" is NOT a step-by-step book that gives you tips on how to be happy. Instead, the book summarizes years of research, so what you get when all is said and done, are general principles along with examples of how people have used them to transform their lives. The hope, then, is that you will have enough information in the book to make the transition from principles and theory, to actual practice.
In a nutshell, Flow is a unique and interesting book that examines the process of achieving happiness through the control of one's inner life. I didn't find it as easy to read as some books written by academic individuals, such as David Myer's The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy, but it's definitely a "digestable" read for the general audience.
I'll tell you, though, after reading a lot of positive psychology books, you start to see some common threads. In "Flow", one of the conditions that makes flow occur is that you have a clear goal. And in the book Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World, it reveals that one proven way to increase long-term happiness (according to controlled trials cited in the book) is to set intrinsic/self-concordant goals. With much happiness research coming to similar conclusions, perhaps an important take-home message is this: the kinds of things we choose to spend our time on can have a HUGE impact on how happy we are. Happy trails! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment (1)
61 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Important book, 28 April 2004
By David Jameson (Calgary, AB) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
This book points out something which should be obvious - that in order tohave a happy, fulfilling life you must live your life to have as many"flow" experiences as possible. That is, you must do things that havegoals that you are fully committed to achieving, and that you are highlymotivated to achieve. The human brain has evolved to solve challenges suchas hunting, finding new territory and surviving in inhospitable climates.Having motivating challenges results in a happy and fulfilling life, whilea lack of such factors can lead to depression, fatigue and ill health.
A number of years ago after suffering from suicidal depression, anxietyand chronic illness (CFS/ME), I eventually came to a point where I wasforced to change my lifestyle. Partly by sheer luck, and partly thoughobserving how my lifestyle affected my mental and physical health, Ieventually came to the realisation that having positive goals andmotivation were crucial to maintaining my health, and that a lack of thesefactors lead back down the path of physical and mental deterioration.
In the past few years I have lived my entire life as one long "flow"experience - everything I do is now part of an overall plan for my life,and every day I am working towards short- and long-term goals that I amhighly motivated in. Over the last few years I have completely recoveredfrom CFS/ME and have not suffered from depression, and this is purely downto my change in lifestyle and mental attitude - what Csikszentmihalyidescribes as "flow".
After coming across Csikszentmihalyi's work a few weeks ago, I realisedthat his "flow" concept is exactly the same as the mental attitude andlifestyle factors that have helped me go from chronic ill health anddepression to perfect physical and mental health and living a happy andfulfilling life. If I had read this book 5 years ago, it would have savedme a lot of trouble!
The only minor criticism of the book is it doesn't have any index, butthis doesn't detract much from a very important book that deserves a lotmore recognition. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comments (2)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not a "quick fix", a scientific approach to a better life., 13 Feb 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is an outstanding, well-researched, easy-to-read guide to transcending the limits of joy typically imposed by materialism, class, religion, behaviorism, and self-doubt. Great approach to integrating success in work, love, life; not about finding a trick. It is a tool (not a morality) to increase attention, which provides focus to build skills, which increases the ability to solve tasks of greater complexity, which leads to richer & fuller lives (social, personal, mental, etc.). Not hot air--backed by research. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best examples of an unreliable genre, 18 Sep 2008
By P. Martin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
The self-help genre rightly attracts a lot of criticism; there are a lot of charlatans out there. 'Flow', however is a book which clearly stands out. Csikszentmihalyi speaks with tremendous authority, and his education clearly extends well beyond psychology. But most importantly the book isn't about providing false hope by offering miraculous quick fixes which don't work. The book is just about educating the reader, so they they may make their own informed decisions about how to improve their lives.
The author speaks to you with a very sympathetic tone. He presents a secular, liberal acccount, but what may come as a surprise is that there is quite a lot of moralising in the book. He seems to mention on what seems like every page how much of a waste of time it is to watch television. What he arrives at is hence an unapalogetic, scientifically proven 'elitism'. Studies show that people who spend their time contructively really do find more enjoyment in their lives than people who just drink and watch soap operas.
If you disagree with this sentiment, you would be advised to stay away from this book. Otherwise, this is a must read. The main theme of the book is the paradox of the increasing difficulty finding enjoyment and meaning in an increasingly wealthy and liberated society. As we go further and further in this direction, it's a book which will only get more and more relevant. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Happiness Defined, 18 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Of all the great comments, nobody seems to mention the core of this book is a realistic look at the ever elusive "happiness". The author shows how we are taught to seek the wrong things when we attempt to seek happiness. A very important lesson and one that will stick with you in your struggle to make a happy life. Get it. Read it several times. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding analysis of the creative experience., 15 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Professor Csikszentmihalyi takes a difficult concept and makes it accessible. The ramifications of his work are virtually limitless. We have the power to choose the realities in which we live, and this book offers invaluable insights into creating the optimal reality for each of us. But more than being "inspirational", his work is scientific and critical. A "must read" for the intellectual interested in psychological growth and understanding. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and worthwhile, 18 Sep 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Ignore any reviews which denegrate Csikszentmihalyi's work as "obvious" or the pop-culture equivalent of Zen. This book has a resonance of validity that can only come from extensive study and contemplation. Understanding WHY and HOW other people fill their lives with meaning and purpose can help clarify your own life. Even if you're unable to find anything in this text that can be applied to yourself, it's no less valid a study than, say, appreciating a leaf for its green-ness or how it floats to earth in the fall. This book is such an examination of one of the most basic driving forces of humanity. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing, 9 Dec 2010
By MoQingbird "ndearnshaw" - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
I don't usually give more than four stars to a book - five stars seems to indicate a non-discriminatory fanboy mentality to me - but this book gets five. If I look behind me i can see about six feet of bookshelf filled up with psychology, philosophy, popular science and self-help books that I've bought over the last five years. Flow is the only book of the whole lot that has made an actual practical difference to my life. It's not a 'get happy in 24 hours' instant solution to what ever is bothering you (assuming that you are bothered by something missing in your life). Instead, it takes a good hard look at what exactly happiness is. The key to its success is really simple: it's a lot easier to find something if you know what it is you are looking for. Once you really understand what happiness is - and Flow's definition rings true to the bone for me - then you can go out and find it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars FLOW, 6 Sep 2010
By oliver stevens - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
I think this book is great. One that will become me through practice. Not something thats great then put away and forgotten. Its a hard read though because its not very linear (how I prefer things) so you are given some great knowledge, and for the most part (but not entirely) left to come to your own conclusions. For me in the broadest of terms the books main message is have a long term goal one that is very much meaningful in purpose. Have changeling yet intrinsically rewarding hobbies (in other words make good of "leisure time", which he proves we do not actually do!), and to create the elements of flow (see book) in daily life (routine tasks etc). In fact in an even broader sense, the books message could be said to say "have a life of engagement/involvement/action" but this doesn't do the book justice. He goes into topics such as consciousness, attention, how the the planet is not designed for our happiness, a loss of 'self', motivation, etc. All in all though its a MUST READ if you are looking for a real solid way to enhance your own genuine and personal happiness. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars A deep classic - no quick fixes here, 9 July 2010
By J. Robinson "Athena" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) This review is from: Flow: Psychology of Happiness (Paperback)
I read 'Flow' in 1993 and it had a great impact on the way I approached life. But this is not a self-help book nor is it a quick fix to Happiness. Nor is it an easy read. It is a scientific investigation by a well-known, respected psychologist.
What this book reveals is a fascinating two decades worth of dedicated investigation into what in human experience seems to bring happiness - i.e. a state of deep concentration and absorption, creativity and total involvement in life which takes us out of ourselves. The author provides some fascinating examples of moments of flow.
These moments of flow are when one feels joy, feels totally in control, transcending the mundane. This can happen at any moment e.g. listening to music, doing something one loves, seeing something beautiful in nature or communing with a person you love and many many more situations where you are totally in the present moment - a total state of flow. All of us have at one time or another experienced moments of flow in our lives but can we sustain it? The question is, how can we stay in that state more often?
We can train ourselves to be in the state of flow more regularly by training the mind/consciousness. All you need is the mind and a willingness to learn to concentrate.
Read the book and you will understand a little more about what makes people happy. Then experiment ...
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for a happy existence, 17 Sep 2009
By Charles Elford (Whitstable, Kent) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Quite heavy in places and a bit academic but a very good read for those wanting to achieve optimal experience in their fields just as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor did in his. Black Mahler the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story Charles Elford Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books of our age, 6 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
If you've ever wanted to achieve happiness in life -- not just fun or pleasure but true, profound happiness -- you should read this book. Since perhaps no desire than this one is more fundamental to every human being's struggle, it's hard to imagine a more important subject for a book.
Csikszentmihalyi's observations, as he notes himself, are nothing new; you can find them in an array of ancient philosophies and religions, especially Eastern ones. But what makes this book so compelling and so important for contemporary readers is that he has arrived at his conclusions through over two decades of scientific research. Therefore, they are endowed with an authority and a clarity of definition which members of our cynical, secular society often find frustratingly lacking in philosophies from other times and other places. At the same time, this scientific dovetailing with the likes of Buddhism and Taoism and other systems of thought lends those "religions" greater substance and relevance for contemporary readers.
Some enlightened souls may find the revelations here less than revelatory. Other people may find that they suddenly hear the lyrics that have been sung to them in chorus after chorus by ancient and mystical voices, and will recognize the common truths of those verses for the first time. Those are the ones whose lives will be changed by reading this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A 'fluid' read, 2 April 2008
By N. Marik "Neelesh" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Reading this book itself has been a 'flow' experience, which is a testament to Mr Csikszentmihalyi's (if that is not a mouthful, what is!) writing and his choice of the topic itself.
The book celebrates the cardinal importance of the quality of experience over conventional success metrics/ outcome norms that people pursue.
My key takeaways from the book are:
1) The 'flow zone' definition on the skills-challenges 2x2
2) The role of complexity and the modeling of 'dissipative structures' in creating order out of chaos (read psychic entropy)
3) The principle of the 'autotelic' self, and mindful challenge as the ultimate source of contentment
Written in a easy paced, intuitive style, this is a highly effective read.
PS: The 4 pronged classification of all the world's 'games': agon, alea, ilinx and mimicry is quite novel Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Concisely and clearly illuminates how our minds operate., 8 Aug 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is an extraordinary book. The author's writing style is unusually concise and he is able to explain complex ideas in a simple and understandable style. The concept of flow is intuitively very appealing. The author conducted an apparently well structured empirical study of the causes and conditions that resulted in "optimal experience" (ie happiness) and reached some insightful and convincing conclusions. The ability to achieve "optimal experience" is tightly linked to the ability to focus on fulfilling personally determined goals. Although the book is useful as a personal blueprint for achieving "optimal experience" I found more facinating his compelling arguments about the functioning of the human mind and spirit. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent insight into personal and social motivation, 13 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
excellent insight into personal and social motivation; a valuable empirical study of happiness Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A pearl!, 11 Dec 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is the book to read if you are an athlete, a business person or anybody else who think about your own performance. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars .Eastern secret of Moderation defined scientifically, 21 July 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Of the hundreds of psychology, new age, or self help books that we have to choose from, FLOW is of the few that is absolutely a Must. It defines that which we all seek from birth to death: HAPPINESS. It defines what makes happiness, why we feel it, and why we do not. And when I applied the author's theories in my own life, I did indeed find that what he wrote is rare and precious truth. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely first-rate!, 9 May 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
The author explains the flow state as that period when the task at hand is challenging enough to totally engage us, rescuing us from boredom, but not so challenging that we fail, frustration setting in. Between the two extremes of boredom (too easy) and frustration (too hard) we find the flow channel -- blissful execution, seemingly effortless progress, and an overall feeling of happiness. The author goes on to explain learning as excursions out of the flow channel -- becoming too comfortable (bored) so that we seek harder challenges, or seeking more skills so that we can overcome the frustration of failing at difficult tasks. Hence all learning is seen as driving us back into the flow channel from either above or below. There is even a beautiful graph to illustrate the process. This book gives you a new way of looking at the world, and makes you wonder why we all can't spend more time in the channel being happier. Read it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Important physiologic findings., 4 Dec 1996
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
The author's findings might well be taken into consideration by virtual reality and video game developers, since "flow" is a neurophysiologic event which may be potentiated by external stimuli. Flow is about being fully engaged - which can result in happiness, but more important, satisfaction, fulfillment, self-realization. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE FLOW NETWORK, 16 Aug 1997
By A Customer
Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com/
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Every self-knowing person should read this book, 16 April 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
For me, this book provided my first insight into how people really become happy. We're happy when we are in flow. Unlike many of the "happy psychology" books that are available, this one feels true. It's also backed up by real research; the author is not a pop psychology dude but a real researcher. (I understand from the university psych community that M.C.'s work may not be universally admired, but that may simply be because it is approachable and understandable by your average educated person.)
It's rare to find a book that agrees with both what I think and what I feel. For anyone who wants to have new insights into what makes us feel happy (and who doesn't?), I highly recommend this book.
Additionally, I recommend his latest book, Creativity. I would skip much of his second popular book, Finding Flow, which gets into a lot of metaphysical stuff that doesn't agree with either how I feel or how I think. Flow, however, is the key to understanding the rest of his work.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE FLOW NETWORK, 16 Aug 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Surfing the Slipstream of Sanctity, 1 Mar 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Flow cascades with liberating insight on how to derive real enjoyment moment-by-moment and taste the true richness of living. Csikszentmihalyi's (pronounced chick-sent-me-high) intelligence tuned my worldview to the positive flux of a pleasurable state of mind marked by concentration and deep satisfaction. With this keen manual for optimal existence, I now set "autotelic" challenges via an action system that accentuates the ebb between being and becoming. The rewards are powerful; a contented context - a connecting order that illuminates meaning and the potential to transform the entirety of life into a single flow activity that provides constant evolutionary purpose. An essential emanation for the idea generation. **** Mark Riva Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Why is the one and two star reviews for this item not available?, 20 July 2008
By Asle Gundersby (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback) (from here Amazon UK review)
I want this book. I am going to by it, because I have heard a lot positive about it. But I would also like to read what the people who didn't like it have to say.
Why isn't the one and two star reviews for this item available?
Is it just a coindidence?
5.0 out of 5 stars Life changing, 9 Dec 2010
By MoQingbird "ndearnshaw" - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
I don't usually give more than four stars to a book - five stars seems to indicate a non-discriminatory fanboy mentality to me - but this book gets five. If I look behind me i can see about six feet of bookshelf filled up with psychology, philosophy, popular science and self-help books that I've bought over the last five years. Flow is the only book of the whole lot that has made an actual practical difference to my life. It's not a 'get happy in 24 hours' instant solution to what ever is bothering you (assuming that you are bothered by something missing in your life). Instead, it takes a good hard look at what exactly happiness is. The key to its success is really simple: it's a lot easier to find something if you know what it is you are looking for. Once you really understand what happiness is - and Flow's definition rings true to the bone for me - then you can go out and find it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, 13 Nov 2010
By a hopeful reader (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
It really is a brilliant introduction to the concept of flow - optimal experience. He makes a very convincing case and offers a lot of evidence. However I would have liked to have seen more in the way ofpractical advice. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars FLOW, 6 Sep 2010
By oliver stevens - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
I think this book is great. One that will become me through practice. Not something thats great then put away and forgotten. Its a hard read though because its not very linear (how I prefer things) so you are given some great knowledge, and for the most part (but not entirely) left to come to your own conclusions. For me in the broadest of terms the books main message is have a long term goal one that is very much meaningful in purpose. Have changeling yet intrinsically rewarding hobbies (in other words make good of "leisure time", which he proves we do not actually do!), and to create the elements of flow (see book) in daily life (routine tasks etc). In fact in an even broader sense, the books message could be said to say "have a life of engagement/involvement/action" but this doesn't do the book justice. He goes into topics such as consciousness, attention, how the the planet is not designed for our happiness, a loss of 'self', motivation, etc. All in all though its a MUST READ if you are looking for a real solid way to enhance your own genuine and personal happiness. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars A deep classic - no quick fixes here, 9 July 2010
By J. Robinson "Athena" (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) This review is from: Flow: Psychology of Happiness (Paperback)
I read 'Flow' in 1993 and it had a great impact on the way I approached life. But this is not a self-help book nor is it a quick fix to Happiness. Nor is it an easy read. It is a scientific investigation by a well-known, respected psychologist.
What this book reveals is a fascinating two decades worth of dedicated investigation into what in human experience seems to bring happiness - i.e. a state of deep concentration and absorption, creativity and total involvement in life which takes us out of ourselves. The author provides some fascinating examples of moments of flow.
These moments of flow are when one feels joy, feels totally in control, transcending the mundane. This can happen at any moment e.g. listening to music, doing something one loves, seeing something beautiful in nature or communing with a person you love and many many more situations where you are totally in the present moment - a total state of flow. All of us have at one time or another experienced moments of flow in our lives but can we sustain it? The question is, how can we stay in that state more often?
We can train ourselves to be in the state of flow more regularly by training the mind/consciousness. All you need is the mind and a willingness to learn to concentrate.
Read the book and you will understand a little more about what makes people happy. Then experiment ... Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars very heavy going - and not a self help book, 18 Jun 2010
By Bethan Lloyd "Bethan" (Caerphilly) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Be warned - this book is very heavy going. It is clearly well researched, but you have to read it slowly. More like an academic thesis than light reading.
In fact, as I think a previous reviewer has said, it isn't your typical self help book. In fact, if you are looking for a book which will give you practical tips on how to improve your life, or your outlook on life, I doubt that this is the book for you.
The book really has only one central message - participation in "flow" activities tends to make you happy. These are activities that are goal orientated and challenging enough to absorb all your attention such that, when engaged in them, you cease to notice the passage of time. For me, it is playing the violin. For others it may, for example, be art or a challenging sport. They tend to be active rather than passive activities - i.e. producing a painting as opposed to visiting a gallery, making music as opposed to listening to it.
So I guess you can read the book and take away this one nugget of information, or you could take my word for it and spend the time you would have spent reading the book engaging in your favourite "flow" activity instead! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4.0 out of 5 stars Paul's view.., 1 Jun 2010
By Paul Persad (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: Psychology of Happiness (Paperback)
A very good read, with very valid points, evidence and deductions.
Flow: has a definite, scientific, slightly logical approach and reasoning. If you are looking for a slightly more metaphysical approach, (more depth into how things just seriously drop into place when you experience 'flow' across a range of consecutive life issues)you might not necessarily get the feel; however this is still a very good book, well written and formulated. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for a happy existence, 17 Sep 2009
By Charles Elford (Whitstable, Kent) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Quite heavy in places and a bit academic but a very good read for those wanting to achieve optimal experience in their fields just as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor did in his. Black Mahler the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story Charles Elford Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Flow: A Path to Happiness, 8 Dec 2008
By Beth "happiness searcher" - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Besides having more vowels in his name than any other researcher in the field of positive psychology, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi is probably best known for his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. So what exactlty is flow and what does it have to do with finding happiness?
There are short and long ways to define the concept of flow. The short way is to tell you that flow is roughly the equivalent to what most people refer to as being "in the zone" or "in the groove". More elaborate definitions might be that it is "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people do it even at great cost, for the sheer state of doing it."
Being such a desirable state, flow is naturally linked to happiness. The book feels that the path to happiness is a circuitous one that begins with one achieving control over the "contents of our consciousness". I'm taking that to mean that if I learn to find flow experiences, it will lead to greater happiness.
Know from the get-go that "Flow" is NOT a step-by-step book that gives you tips on how to be happy. Instead, the book summarizes years of research, so what you get when all is said and done, are general principles along with examples of how people have used them to transform their lives. The hope, then, is that you will have enough information in the book to make the transition from principles and theory, to actual practice.
In a nutshell, Flow is a unique and interesting book that examines the process of achieving happiness through the control of one's inner life. I didn't find it as easy to read as some books written by academic individuals, such as David Myer's The Pursuit of Happiness: Discovering the Pathway to Fulfillment, Well-Being, and Enduring Personal Joy, but it's definitely a "digestable" read for the general audience.
I'll tell you, though, after reading a lot of positive psychology books, you start to see some common threads. In "Flow", one of the conditions that makes flow occur is that you have a clear goal. And in the book Finding Happiness in a Frustrating World, it reveals that one proven way to increase long-term happiness (according to controlled trials cited in the book) is to set intrinsic/self-concordant goals. With much happiness research coming to similar conclusions, perhaps an important take-home message is this: the kinds of things we choose to spend our time on can have a HUGE impact on how happy we are. Happy trails! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment (1)
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best examples of an unreliable genre, 18 Sep 2008
By P. Martin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
The self-help genre rightly attracts a lot of criticism; there are a lot of charlatans out there. 'Flow', however is a book which clearly stands out. Csikszentmihalyi speaks with tremendous authority, and his education clearly extends well beyond psychology. But most importantly the book isn't about providing false hope by offering miraculous quick fixes which don't work. The book is just about educating the reader, so they they may make their own informed decisions about how to improve their lives.
The author speaks to you with a very sympathetic tone. He presents a secular, liberal acccount, but what may come as a surprise is that there is quite a lot of moralising in the book. He seems to mention on what seems like every page how much of a waste of time it is to watch television. What he arrives at is hence an unapalogetic, scientifically proven 'elitism'. Studies show that people who spend their time contructively really do find more enjoyment in their lives than people who just drink and watch soap operas.
If you disagree with this sentiment, you would be advised to stay away from this book. Otherwise, this is a must read. The main theme of the book is the paradox of the increasing difficulty finding enjoyment and meaning in an increasingly wealthy and liberated society. As we go further and further in this direction, it's a book which will only get more and more relevant.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A 'fluid' read, 2 April 2008
By N. Marik "Neelesh" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Reading this book itself has been a 'flow' experience, which is a testament to Mr Csikszentmihalyi's (if that is not a mouthful, what is!) writing and his choice of the topic itself.
The book celebrates the cardinal importance of the quality of experience over conventional success metrics/ outcome norms that people pursue.
My key takeaways from the book are:
1) The 'flow zone' definition on the skills-challenges 2x2
2) The role of complexity and the modeling of 'dissipative structures' in creating order out of chaos (read psychic entropy)
3) The principle of the 'autotelic' self, and mindful challenge as the ultimate source of contentment
Written in a easy paced, intuitive style, this is a highly effective read.
PS: The 4 pronged classification of all the world's 'games': agon, alea, ilinx and mimicry is quite novel Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An important book for sports people, 8 Feb 2007
By W. Goodman (Cambridge, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
Csikszentmihalyi IS the authority on this subject and as a keen rower I have always had an interest in The Flow or Zone as its known in sport. This book is also a vital resource for anyone with an interest in their sport and how to achieve a peak performance. I have always found it curious as to why when I'm in The Flow whilst rowing I feel euphoric and so complete. This book goes along way to explaining why. Roy Palmer's Zone Mind, Zone Body is an excellent companion to this book with its practical techniques to get into The Flow. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
42 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid, fascinating, work, 4 Jun 2006
By Dr. Ian K. MCDONALD (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
I read Flow partically as a self-improvement book, and partially because several people involved in game design (particularly "Theory of Fun") recommended it.
It's really interesting. Solidly researched stuff by a proper psychologist looking into what makes people happier. And it's the same thing as makes a big difference to me at the end of a day by myself - if I've set myself clear goals of what to do, and I know whether or not I've met them, I feel a lot happier with myself than if I just potter around, even if I accomplish exactly the same thing.
Csikszentmihalyi (Chick-sent-mi-hal-yi)'s theory is that what makes people happy isn't simple pleasure, but the "flow" state they attain if:
- You're doing something they might succeed at
- You can concentrate on it
- You've got clear goals
- You know immediately whether you've won or lost
This state might not be immensely pleasurable at the time, but it makes you forget all your worries, and gives you a great sense of control.
And somehow, this managed to cover a 300-page paperback book saying this, and yet very little of it was wasted. It goes into great detail about how many different activities might produce this feeling (not least games, which are designed specifically to produce it). A real insight - and it explains why most of us want jobs which challenge and stretch us.
He only really goes off the boil at the end, when he suggests that in order to give life meaning (as a materialist, he does not believe it has one already) you choose something which gives you meaningful goals with clear feedback for your entire life. But preferably without choosing the goal of racial purity (or something similarly destructive). The worrying point is that it's just as possible to achieve flow doing something harmful as it is doing something good. He tries to follow Viktor Frankl ("There is no single meaning of life. The meaning of life is found moment by moment") but ends up with "There's only one way of life, and that's your own". Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
61 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Important book, 28 April 2004
By David Jameson (Calgary, AB) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
This book points out something which should be obvious - that in order tohave a happy, fulfilling life you must live your life to have as many"flow" experiences as possible. That is, you must do things that havegoals that you are fully committed to achieving, and that you are highlymotivated to achieve. The human brain has evolved to solve challenges suchas hunting, finding new territory and surviving in inhospitable climates.Having motivating challenges results in a happy and fulfilling life, whilea lack of such factors can lead to depression, fatigue and ill health.
A number of years ago after suffering from suicidal depression, anxietyand chronic illness (CFS/ME), I eventually came to a point where I wasforced to change my lifestyle. Partly by sheer luck, and partly thoughobserving how my lifestyle affected my mental and physical health, Ieventually came to the realisation that having positive goals andmotivation were crucial to maintaining my health, and that a lack of thesefactors lead back down the path of physical and mental deterioration.
In the past few years I have lived my entire life as one long "flow"experience - everything I do is now part of an overall plan for my life,and every day I am working towards short- and long-term goals that I amhighly motivated in. Over the last few years I have completely recoveredfrom CFS/ME and have not suffered from depression, and this is purely downto my change in lifestyle and mental attitude - what Csikszentmihalyidescribes as "flow".
After coming across Csikszentmihalyi's work a few weeks ago, I realisedthat his "flow" concept is exactly the same as the mental attitude andlifestyle factors that have helped me go from chronic ill health anddepression to perfect physical and mental health and living a happy andfulfilling life. If I had read this book 5 years ago, it would have savedme a lot of trouble!
The only minor criticism of the book is it doesn't have any index, butthis doesn't detract much from a very important book that deserves a lotmore recognition. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comments (2)
44 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Explains the mechanics, not the spirit., 1 May 2003
By jag (london) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness (Paperback)
According to the author, flow is a state of mind when it is totally engrossed in an activity that it looses track of itself and becomes one with the activity being performed. The author supports this with excerpts from interviews with people (rock climbers, artists, musicians etc) who are involved in flow-producing activities.
However, the author never addresses why a person would choose one flow producing activity over another or should people cram as many flow producing activities in their lives as possible. Instead the author attempts to apply the conditions that create flow to turn even the most mundane activities into flow producing activities! In effect, he is saying, "Stop whining you lot, use these techniques known to produce flow to make your job more interesting". The author contends that people are dissatisfied because of lack of flow in their activities which gets them bored sooner or later. Cant people be bored of always being in flow too? How is it different from being temporarily entertained by a good film?
The work is good in that it documents the mechanics of flow but disappoints by not discussing the role of passion/liking of the performer for his chosen activity - which is probably why he repeatedly engages in it; flow being a pleasant by-product but not an end in itself.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment (1)
12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring stuff!, 11 Feb 2000
By veehupa@hotmail.com (Turku, Finland) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Many of us have at least sometimes had that exhilarating experience; the distinct feeling of control, satisfaction and harmony that come when we are totally concentrating and toatally committed to whatever purpose-driven activity we are doing. That's what Mihalyi Csikszenmihalyi calls the FLOW-experience and that is what this book is all about. If you have ever had an experience that even remotely fits this description, or if you've just pondered upon the meaning of life in general, read this book. C. talks about how the quality of our lives can be increased if we are able to experience 'flow' in as many situations in life as possible. It can be anything from rock-climbing or making a speech to listening to music or just sitting and watching a nice view. Even stressful and unfomfortable experiences can be transformed into flow-experiences, which the writer shows with the many examples from real life that follow throughout the book. The flow-experience very often has little to do with objective circumstances such as time and place. This is not at all one of those typical self-help books that come with straight-forward answers to complex problems, but more like a sientific study presented in an concentrated, "easy-to-read" way. What gives the book incresing credibility is also the many years of study, interviews and research that C. has put in to find out more about this subject. Althoguh I didn't agree with everything C. suggests (his view I thought was sometimes even overly optimistic and positive) and thought that he over-simplified matters too much at times, this book definately gave me new insights and changed the way at look some things in life. I agree with C. that we are able to get much more out of our lives if we learn how to control our conciuosness better. A book that most readers who are intrested in this subject will find a valuable read, even ifthey don't agree with all of C;s views. I strongly recommend! Even for younger readers like myself (20). Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
2 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars This book is terrible. I'm amazed at the rambling jibberish, 2 Sep 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Talk about a rambling piece of garbage. Mr. Csikszentmihalyi (who came up with that rediculous spelling?) has taken advantage of our capitalist society while promoting pure socialistic undertones in his book. Don't fall for the jargon. There is nothing here that is tangible or practical. It is by far the worst book I have ever read. Please spare yourself. There are many other self-help books out there with much more to offer. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comments (3)
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars looking for the meaning of life?, 16 April 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
if you have ever wandered in the wastelands of mental illness and depression; and wondered what is the point of it all, and why its worth doing anything at all, just take a little while to read this book. it changes everything. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Happiness Defined, 18 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Of all the great comments, nobody seems to mention the core of this book is a realistic look at the ever elusive "happiness". The author shows how we are taught to seek the wrong things when we attempt to seek happiness. A very important lesson and one that will stick with you in your struggle to make a happy life. Get it. Read it several times. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding analysis of the creative experience., 15 Mar 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Professor Csikszentmihalyi takes a difficult concept and makes it accessible. The ramifications of his work are virtually limitless. We have the power to choose the realities in which we live, and this book offers invaluable insights into creating the optimal reality for each of us. But more than being "inspirational", his work is scientific and critical. A "must read" for the intellectual interested in psychological growth and understanding.
Customer Reviews
Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness
38 Reviews
5 star: (24)
4 star: (8)
3 star: (4)
2 star: (1)
1 star: (1)
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)
Share your thoughts with other customers
Create your own review Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews
› See most helpful viewpoints
‹ Previous
1 2 3 4
Next › Most Helpful First
Newest First
0 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring book not only in Transforming Work..., 21 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Flow and flow dynamics, dissipative self-organization in complexe systems have attracted me more than 10 years ago. As a Consultant for transforming work and leadership I worked with various insights - also Mihaly's - successfully, but found that there is a "higher non-evolutive" C3-order (Creator, Creation, Creature) that cannot be modelled by simplified darwinian chaos theories. This step however was only possibly by considering what Mihaly is writing about. Thanks to that I joined my partner, Dr. Peter Meier, to further develop his APS Applied Personal Science to model real human systems from their (predictible) outcome! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent insight into personal and social motivation, 13 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
excellent insight into personal and social motivation; a valuable empirical study of happiness Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Willie Loman takes up zen philosophy, 13 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
I enjoyed the first few chapters of this book but became increasingly frustrated with the shallowness of the author's research and thought. He cites many studies by his followers which are bound to prove his point. More seriously, he seems completely unfamiliar with both serious questions about the meaning of life and the serious exploitative meaninglessness of many jobs and pastimes offered to us by late twentieth-century capitalism. Sure, you can find flow while entering data or pushing papers, but is this really how you want to spend your life? Wouldn't you rather be a professor at the University of Chicago, surrounded by disciples whose research validates your own ideas--like Csikszentmihalyi? Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books of our age, 6 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
If you've ever wanted to achieve happiness in life -- not just fun or pleasure but true, profound happiness -- you should read this book. Since perhaps no desire than this one is more fundamental to every human being's struggle, it's hard to imagine a more important subject for a book.
Csikszentmihalyi's observations, as he notes himself, are nothing new; you can find them in an array of ancient philosophies and religions, especially Eastern ones. But what makes this book so compelling and so important for contemporary readers is that he has arrived at his conclusions through over two decades of scientific research. Therefore, they are endowed with an authority and a clarity of definition which members of our cynical, secular society often find frustratingly lacking in philosophies from other times and other places. At the same time, this scientific dovetailing with the likes of Buddhism and Taoism and other systems of thought lends those "religions" greater substance and relevance for contemporary readers.
Some enlightened souls may find the revelations here less than revelatory. Other people may find that they suddenly hear the lyrics that have been sung to them in chorus after chorus by ancient and mystical voices, and will recognize the common truths of those verses for the first time. Those are the ones whose lives will be changed by reading this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and worthwhile, 18 Sep 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Ignore any reviews which denegrate Csikszentmihalyi's work as "obvious" or the pop-culture equivalent of Zen. This book has a resonance of validity that can only come from extensive study and contemplation. Understanding WHY and HOW other people fill their lives with meaning and purpose can help clarify your own life. Even if you're unable to find anything in this text that can be applied to yourself, it's no less valid a study than, say, appreciating a leaf for its green-ness or how it floats to earth in the fall. This book is such an examination of one of the most basic driving forces of humanity. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Pop Zen, 7 May 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
If you are familiar with Zen thought, 'Flow' will have a familiar ring to it. Csikszentmihalyi pretty much just condenses and modernizes Zen philosophy, then restates it. Even if I wasn't versed in Zen teachings, 'Flow' would still come across as a little obvious. Of course one's life and happiness is based on one's preception of it. Csikszentmihalyi seems to have one major point to make, then every remaining chapter is just a reiteration of it. The book is easy to read and a little 'pop culturish.' Csikszentmihalyi quotes 'scientific' research, but I'm always wary of an author that cites and summarizes a multitude of studies to prove a point. Things are rarely that clear cut. Any psychological study can be used prove a theory depending on how the results are interpreted. Csikszentmihalyi also starts to get into other fields to help explain flow, such as anthropology. He should stick to things he knows, psychology. If you are already in the 'flow' this book won't let you understand it any better, you already know. If you're unhappy this book will explain to you why the people who are, are. Will reading this book help you achieve happiness? I have my doubts, but you have to start somewhere. If you want to be more challenged and get into the essence of flow, try reading about Zen philosophy. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Every self-knowing person should read this book, 16 April 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
For me, this book provided my first insight into how people really become happy. We're happy when we are in flow. Unlike many of the "happy psychology" books that are available, this one feels true. It's also backed up by real research; the author is not a pop psychology dude but a real researcher. (I understand from the university psych community that M.C.'s work may not be universally admired, but that may simply be because it is approachable and understandable by your average educated person.)
It's rare to find a book that agrees with both what I think and what I feel. For anyone who wants to have new insights into what makes us feel happy (and who doesn't?), I highly recommend this book.
Additionally, I recommend his latest book, Creativity. I would skip much of his second popular book, Finding Flow, which gets into a lot of metaphysical stuff that doesn't agree with either how I feel or how I think. Flow, however, is the key to understanding the rest of his work.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent description, Doctor, where's the prescription?, 6 Mar 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Professor Csikszentmihalyi has done a great service by distilling his decades of research into happiness and satisfaction into a well constructed single volume. He writes with wit, insight, and character. He vast learning is often evident but never overbearing.
The book ultimately fails, however, for it invests all of its considerable power in describing Flow and convincing the reader to seek this optimal experience but does too little to help us on the path toward experiencing it. This flaw is somewhat healed in his later books, but perhaps the key can not be conveyed in print.
That is why I am so busy teaching and consulting on the topic.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A pearl!, 11 Dec 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is the book to read if you are an athlete, a business person or anybody else who think about your own performance. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE FLOW NETWORK, 16 Aug 1997
By A Customer
Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com/.
Customer Reviews
Flow: The Psychology of Happiness: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness
38 Reviews
5 star: (24)
4 star: (8)
3 star: (4)
2 star: (1)
1 star: (1)
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)
Share your thoughts with other customers
Create your own review Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews
› See most helpful viewpoints
‹ Previous
1 2 3 4
Next › Most Helpful First
Newest First
0 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring book not only in Transforming Work..., 21 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Flow and flow dynamics, dissipative self-organization in complexe systems have attracted me more than 10 years ago. As a Consultant for transforming work and leadership I worked with various insights - also Mihaly's - successfully, but found that there is a "higher non-evolutive" C3-order (Creator, Creation, Creature) that cannot be modelled by simplified darwinian chaos theories. This step however was only possibly by considering what Mihaly is writing about. Thanks to that I joined my partner, Dr. Peter Meier, to further develop his APS Applied Personal Science to model real human systems from their (predictible) outcome! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars excellent insight into personal and social motivation, 13 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
excellent insight into personal and social motivation; a valuable empirical study of happiness Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Willie Loman takes up zen philosophy, 13 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
I enjoyed the first few chapters of this book but became increasingly frustrated with the shallowness of the author's research and thought. He cites many studies by his followers which are bound to prove his point. More seriously, he seems completely unfamiliar with both serious questions about the meaning of life and the serious exploitative meaninglessness of many jobs and pastimes offered to us by late twentieth-century capitalism. Sure, you can find flow while entering data or pushing papers, but is this really how you want to spend your life? Wouldn't you rather be a professor at the University of Chicago, surrounded by disciples whose research validates your own ideas--like Csikszentmihalyi? Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books of our age, 6 Dec 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
If you've ever wanted to achieve happiness in life -- not just fun or pleasure but true, profound happiness -- you should read this book. Since perhaps no desire than this one is more fundamental to every human being's struggle, it's hard to imagine a more important subject for a book.
Csikszentmihalyi's observations, as he notes himself, are nothing new; you can find them in an array of ancient philosophies and religions, especially Eastern ones. But what makes this book so compelling and so important for contemporary readers is that he has arrived at his conclusions through over two decades of scientific research. Therefore, they are endowed with an authority and a clarity of definition which members of our cynical, secular society often find frustratingly lacking in philosophies from other times and other places. At the same time, this scientific dovetailing with the likes of Buddhism and Taoism and other systems of thought lends those "religions" greater substance and relevance for contemporary readers.
Some enlightened souls may find the revelations here less than revelatory. Other people may find that they suddenly hear the lyrics that have been sung to them in chorus after chorus by ancient and mystical voices, and will recognize the common truths of those verses for the first time. Those are the ones whose lives will be changed by reading this book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and worthwhile, 18 Sep 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Ignore any reviews which denegrate Csikszentmihalyi's work as "obvious" or the pop-culture equivalent of Zen. This book has a resonance of validity that can only come from extensive study and contemplation. Understanding WHY and HOW other people fill their lives with meaning and purpose can help clarify your own life. Even if you're unable to find anything in this text that can be applied to yourself, it's no less valid a study than, say, appreciating a leaf for its green-ness or how it floats to earth in the fall. This book is such an examination of one of the most basic driving forces of humanity. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Pop Zen, 7 May 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
If you are familiar with Zen thought, 'Flow' will have a familiar ring to it. Csikszentmihalyi pretty much just condenses and modernizes Zen philosophy, then restates it. Even if I wasn't versed in Zen teachings, 'Flow' would still come across as a little obvious. Of course one's life and happiness is based on one's preception of it. Csikszentmihalyi seems to have one major point to make, then every remaining chapter is just a reiteration of it. The book is easy to read and a little 'pop culturish.' Csikszentmihalyi quotes 'scientific' research, but I'm always wary of an author that cites and summarizes a multitude of studies to prove a point. Things are rarely that clear cut. Any psychological study can be used prove a theory depending on how the results are interpreted. Csikszentmihalyi also starts to get into other fields to help explain flow, such as anthropology. He should stick to things he knows, psychology. If you are already in the 'flow' this book won't let you understand it any better, you already know. If you're unhappy this book will explain to you why the people who are, are. Will reading this book help you achieve happiness? I have my doubts, but you have to start somewhere. If you want to be more challenged and get into the essence of flow, try reading about Zen philosophy. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Every self-knowing person should read this book, 16 April 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
For me, this book provided my first insight into how people really become happy. We're happy when we are in flow. Unlike many of the "happy psychology" books that are available, this one feels true. It's also backed up by real research; the author is not a pop psychology dude but a real researcher. (I understand from the university psych community that M.C.'s work may not be universally admired, but that may simply be because it is approachable and understandable by your average educated person.)
It's rare to find a book that agrees with both what I think and what I feel. For anyone who wants to have new insights into what makes us feel happy (and who doesn't?), I highly recommend this book.
Additionally, I recommend his latest book, Creativity. I would skip much of his second popular book, Finding Flow, which gets into a lot of metaphysical stuff that doesn't agree with either how I feel or how I think. Flow, however, is the key to understanding the rest of his work.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent description, Doctor, where's the prescription?, 6 Mar 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Professor Csikszentmihalyi has done a great service by distilling his decades of research into happiness and satisfaction into a well constructed single volume. He writes with wit, insight, and character. He vast learning is often evident but never overbearing.
The book ultimately fails, however, for it invests all of its considerable power in describing Flow and convincing the reader to seek this optimal experience but does too little to help us on the path toward experiencing it. This flaw is somewhat healed in his later books, but perhaps the key can not be conveyed in print.
That is why I am so busy teaching and consulting on the topic.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Concisely and clearly illuminates how our minds operate., 8 Aug 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is an extraordinary book. The author's writing style is unusually concise and he is able to explain complex ideas in a simple and understandable style. The concept of flow is intuitively very appealing. The author conducted an apparently well structured empirical study of the causes and conditions that resulted in "optimal experience" (ie happiness) and reached some insightful and convincing conclusions. The ability to achieve "optimal experience" is tightly linked to the ability to focus on fulfilling personally determined goals. Although the book is useful as a personal blueprint for achieving "optimal experience" I found more facinating his compelling arguments about the functioning of the human mind and spirit. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars .Eastern secret of Moderation defined scientifically, 21 July 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Of the hundreds of psychology, new age, or self help books that we have to choose from, FLOW is of the few that is absolutely a Must. It defines that which we all seek from birth to death: HAPPINESS. It defines what makes happiness, why we feel it, and why we do not. And when I applied the author's theories in my own life, I did indeed find that what he wrote is rare and precious truth. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely first-rate!, 9 May 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
The author explains the flow state as that period when the task at hand is challenging enough to totally engage us, rescuing us from boredom, but not so challenging that we fail, frustration setting in. Between the two extremes of boredom (too easy) and frustration (too hard) we find the flow channel -- blissful execution, seemingly effortless progress, and an overall feeling of happiness. The author goes on to explain learning as excursions out of the flow channel -- becoming too comfortable (bored) so that we seek harder challenges, or seeking more skills so that we can overcome the frustration of failing at difficult tasks. Hence all learning is seen as driving us back into the flow channel from either above or below. There is even a beautiful graph to illustrate the process. This book gives you a new way of looking at the world, and makes you wonder why we all can't spend more time in the channel being happier. Read it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Surfing the Slipstream of Sanctity, 1 Mar 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
Flow cascades with liberating insight on how to derive real enjoyment moment-by-moment and taste the true richness of living. Csikszentmihalyi's (pronounced chick-sent-me-high) intelligence tuned my worldview to the positive flux of a pleasurable state of mind marked by concentration and deep satisfaction. With this keen manual for optimal existence, I now set "autotelic" challenges via an action system that accentuates the ebb between being and becoming. The rewards are powerful; a contented context - a connecting order that illuminates meaning and the potential to transform the entirety of life into a single flow activity that provides constant evolutionary purpose. An essential emanation for the idea generation. **** Mark Riva Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Not a "quick fix", a scientific approach to a better life., 13 Feb 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is an outstanding, well-researched, easy-to-read guide to transcending the limits of joy typically imposed by materialism, class, religion, behaviorism, and self-doubt. Great approach to integrating success in work, love, life; not about finding a trick. It is a tool (not a morality) to increase attention, which provides focus to build skills, which increases the ability to solve tasks of greater complexity, which leads to richer & fuller lives (social, personal, mental, etc.). Not hot air--backed by research. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Important physiologic findings., 4 Dec 1996
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
The author's findings might well be taken into consideration by virtual reality and video game developers, since "flow" is a neurophysiologic event which may be potentiated by external stimuli. Flow is about being fully engaged - which can result in happiness, but more important, satisfaction, fulfillment, self-realization. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent treatise on happiness., 21 Nov 1996
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
The optimal flow model is an excellent conceptualization of our search for happiness. However, the exemplars of this model include the Nazi war criminal Eichmann, which made me question mine and the author's notion of happiness.
Comment Comment
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A pearl!, 11 Dec 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Paperback)
This is the book to read if you are an athlete, a business person or anybody else who think about your own performance. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report abuse
Permalink
Comment Comment
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars THE FLOW NETWORK, 16 Aug 1997
By A Customer
Take steps towards enhancing the quality of your life - explore FlowNet and exchange ideas and experiences associated with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow theory @ http://www.flownetwork.com.
