A state of Flow

The book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is one I keep coming back to for the ideas on it, and has been one of the most influential of last year for me.

Here are some quotes and takeaways from the book:

• Flow is defined as a state of losing oneself to the activity at hand.
• Flow is a state of enjoyment that can happen both while working or playing.
• This state is one we should aim to get to, for instance by choosing or designing our activities to favor such a state.
• One way to think of meaningful work is that which gives us a sense of flow.
• Getting into the flow requires effort and skill, so it is something that one works toward. There is a satisfaction that comes from proficiency.

“It’s exhilarating to come closer and closer to self-discipline.”

― Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

• We might be more successful searching for jobs with activities that give us flow, rather than career paths in the abstract.

“The best moments in our lives, are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times—although such experiences can also be enjoyable, if we have worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

― Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

• Flow can make the mundane enjoyable.

“The mark of a person who is in control of consciousness is the ability to focus attention at will, to be oblivious to distractions, to concentrate for as long as it takes to achieve a goal, and not longer. And the person who can do this usually enjoys the normal course of everyday life.”

― Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

• Running, doing crafts, making art, editing a spreadsheet, coding, and playing videogames, all are possible ways to get into a state of flow.
• Being in the flow might be one of the best ways to dissolve the ego and achieve a state of happiness (even if temporarily or mindlessly so).