Amazon.com Review
You have heard about how a musician loses herself in her music, how a painter becomes one with the process of painting. In work, sport, conversation or hobby, you have experienced, yourself, the suspension of time, the freedom of complete absorption in activity. This is "flow," an experience that is at once demanding and rewarding--an experience that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates is one of the most enjoyable and valuable experiences a person can have. The exhaustive case studies, controlled experiments and innumerable references to historical figures, philosophers and scientists through the ages prove Csikszentmihalyi's point that flow is a singularly productive and desirable state. But the implications for its application to society are what make the book revolutionary.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 112 reviews)

Fabulous!!

I just wanted to say the book I recieved was in great condition, and it came on time, I am very happy with the service, and do recommend the seller.
January 06, 2009

Can you find flow?

I found it very interesting that Mihaly Csikszentmihaly was mentioned in the a module on Motivation and Work for a class I took and later taught. I used "Flow" as part of required reading for ETC567 a class on Education, Technology and Society. It always got favorable reviews and the students liked having something that was not like a textbook.

I remember reading the book "Flow" for the first time and going "Wow." If we could all feel flow in our work, in our lives, things would be so much easier. Instead we feel ourselves often dissatisfied with rote memorization in school, repetition in work and financial stresses and personal emotional issues in our social and interpersonal relationships.

Reading "Flow" often provides an "Ah-ha" moment. Should be required reading for all college freshman!
December 12, 2008

Flow: A Path to Happiness

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!
December 04, 2008

Good Book

A good self help book that will help the reader to understand and order consciousness. The reader is taught how to cope with everday challenges and chaos. The book explains that we must not be sad, angry, worried, ect., despite events that occur outside of our control. Rather, we can learn to accept unwanted events and choose to feel happy, productive, or calm despite those obstacles.

And I think the author would agree that, it is illogical to believe that sadness, anger, worry, fear, loneliness and many other emotions MUST be disordered and avoided. Suffering is part of life and cannot/should not be avoided. An emotion need not be wrong or eliminated from consciousness simply because it is unwanted.

Certain injustices that occur in this world cause many of us to experience a lifetime of deep sadness and suffering. And despite the ability we may have to be productive and happy by means of flow experiences, we must understand that unwanted emotions are healthy and very normal. Unwanted emotions such as anger and sadness help us to realize injustice. If we did not experience anger/sadness in the face of injustice, we would cease being human.

November 29, 2008

Insights that are contrary to common thought

One of my very favorite books.

Written for a popular audience, the author describes the fascinating results of his academic career of researching exactly what makes people happy.

His findings are surprising. Most people don't know what makes them happy. For example, most people don't realize that they are happiest at work or why; they believe they would be happier with more leisure time. I found most facsinating the studies of people who had lost limbs. The book explains why, although parapalegics would rather still have their limbs, for many, the loss of their limbs actually made them happier.

The ideas presented explain why so many people are unhappy when enjoying historically unprecedented levels of physical comfort. The book is also uplifting in that it points out that we truly can be happy in any situation.

Although the book does ramble at times, this is one of the best books I have ever read. I am more than willing to put up with less than perfect writing to gain the remarkable insights that are clearly laid out in the book. Not surprisingly, the book does not provide a recipe to make you happy. But it does provide general concepts that can be applied to your particular situation and preferences.
November 11, 2008

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life (Masterminds Series)
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment
by Martin Seligman

Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life
by Martin E. P. Seligman

The Evolving Self
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi