A review by lizziepurpleserenity
Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

3.5

I can't decide what to rate this, but not as much as 4 stars and 3 might be too stingy. I didn't learn much new as I am already familiar with the idea of 'flow' and most of the ideas Mihaly puts forward in this book, so it might be more illuminating for someone who isn't familiar. I did find the results of the surveys interesting - though clearly dated, given this was published in 1995 - but I got a bit irritated with Mihaly's narrow-minded dismissiveness of TV (something which in my family is a very active and sociable activity, not the passive zombifying experience the book implies it is). I also felt there was a strong bias towards extroversion (as opposed to introversion), in the sense that the book (or the results of the surveys discussed) seems to imply that being extroverted is the happier, healthier way to live - despite the fact that one is more likely to achieve a 'flow' state when doing something alone... However, a bit later in the book Mihaly does admittedly address this, suggesting the results of the surveys may be skewed in that respect.

To conclude, I'm glad I finally read this as I'd been wanting to actually read one of Mihaly's books on 'flow' since first hearing about the concept, but I can't say I learnt much and if it was meant to be a self-help book, there's not a lot of practical advice in terms of how to make a change, it's more abstract than that, about attitude more than anything else....