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599 reviews for:
Flow: The Classic Work On How To Achieve Happiness: The Psychology of Happiness
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
3.89 AVERAGE
599 reviews for:
Flow: The Classic Work On How To Achieve Happiness: The Psychology of Happiness
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
3.89 AVERAGE
A good read about what makes us tick--and tick well. I found myself relating to circumstances in which I've been in the zone.
I listened to this book on Audible and went through it quickly as it had good narration. Having read similar style books around the Flow topic, I unfortunately did not find too much new material or practical advise. Many of the new books such as Drive or Growth Mindset all touch upon the flow concept. The book went into many anecdotes to illustrate people that were in the state of flow, but I don't think he drove the message home in how to get to that state other than scattered messages throughout the book. Overall, I did enjoy the book and would recommend it if you are unfamiliar with the flow topic.
Appreciate the research behind the book. Was a bit painful to get through in some sections because it was quite wordy but overall learned that everything can achieve a flow state if we set a goal that is achievable through learned skills and we receive feedback. Ultimately it is our own interpretation of a situation/ event that determines if our lives can become exciting challenges or meaningless drudgery.
I listened to the audio version of this book, which was mostly read by the author. It was only two hours, which is pretty annotated for an audio book. While I got the gist of it, I did feel like I wasn't getting the whole story. It was more like a summary. I do like the idea of living moment to moment, making the most of what is most of our lives, that mundane collection of must-dos, but the author doesn't really give a whole lot of insight into the process (at least not in the audio version). I am familiar with the concept from my own life. Life was getting really difficult, and my coping mechanism was to live minute to minute. I started to call certain tasks, like mowing the lawn or brushing my teeth, zen activities. A zen activity is an activity that can be done without thinking too much, but requires some kind of effort, and has an immediate visual (or some other sense) reward. Instead of just doing those things, I would concentrate very hard on the act of doing it, following the physical activity in my mind, the brush passing over each tooth, the blade of the mower slicing each blade of grass. The most important part though, is to make sure that when you are done you take a moment to appreciate where the work went: the smooth, even lawn, clean white teeth. The whole human mind boils down to a work/reward system, and too often in our fast-paced modern life we forget to collect our reward.
I don't know if I really got the full benefit of the author's thirty years of research. It was a pleasant enough diversion to listen to, and I agreed with the message.
I don't know if I really got the full benefit of the author's thirty years of research. It was a pleasant enough diversion to listen to, and I agreed with the message.
well-argued actionable principles, was especially struck by the fact that flow can be achieved in relationships and not just activities
challenging
informative
slow-paced
It’s a very academic text, and I think it’s interesting but felt dated at times (do YOUR teens immediately rush to the home phone after school to connect with friends)
While the introduction of this book really drove home the importance of flow in life, and made a clear path towards it, the remainder of the book added little value. I continued reading simply in the hopes of done great insight and because it was a very approachable and conversational style of writing - which I suppose makes my experience sort of antithetical to the lessons in the book.
It was fine. Narrated by csikszentmihalyi, who has an accent, so I had to pay attention. The abridged version is vanishingly short, so I wonder if the regular version is manageable.
Best aspects:
•Learning the 8 characteristics of flow states and how to create them in every day life
•Learning the characteristics and habits or autotelic personalities, who are often more likely to achieve flow states.
Best aspects:
•Learning the 8 characteristics of flow states and how to create them in every day life
•Learning the characteristics and habits or autotelic personalities, who are often more likely to achieve flow states.
Always thought and heard about flow in relation to performance, this book along with the book Ikigai have completely changed the way I think about flow, and life.
Would love to see an update to those research as we live with social media.