FLOW: The Psychology of Optimal Experience - Book Report/Review Example

 “FLOW: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” Summary The book, “FLOW: The Psychology of Optimal Experience,” authored by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi provides a description of the way people can create meaning in their lives. This definition relates to the achievement the state of fulfillment or satisfaction in life. The initial segment of the book provides an overview of the manner in which people define and strive to achieve happiness. Csikszentmihalyi challenges the view that the universe exists to make people happy. Instead, he posits that the universe was created to frustrate individuals as a way of helping them in their growth. He author indicates that people cannot acquire happiness by, “consciously searching for it” (Csikszentmihalyi 2). For this reason, the book primarily focuses on the “flow” in reference to the states that people encounter in spite of the challenges that the universe brings forth. These states happen to everyone regardless of their cultures, ages, or societal statuses. The book describes Flow as a conscious state, which is possible to achieve on a personal path. This state has common elements in which the person experiencing it can be the only that can identify it. The author looks at the common experiences and descriptions of people in the “flow” state. In this case, people in the “flow” seemingly achieve the state of consciousness, which is in harmony with their feelings and environment. Flow creates an inner state of being or an inexplicable moment of indescribable peace, fulfillment and happiness that people experience at exceptional intervals. The peace and satisfaction is separate from the people’s external environment. When an individual is in the flow state, he or she focuses on doing those things that are meaningful and purposeful. For this reason, an individual in such a state is absorbed in performing their activities, and they have a sense of connection with themselves and with others. The basis for the experiences is seemingly for controlling consciousness and the creation of meaning in a state of unity, which remains to be consistent with the themes of an individual’s life. For this reason, Csikszentmihalyi identifies the optimal experience as something that a person can achieve given the challenges and opportunities available for expansion. The overall theme of Csikszentmihalyi’s writing is happiness. The author points out that the Aristotelian concept that everything people look for, whether power, fame, wealth or any other thing, are only valuable when they believe that they will make them happy. Csikszentmihalyi defines happiness as a moment of self-forgetfulness when an individual gets absorbed in life’s processes, which includes intervals of self-expression and peak creativity. This definition relates to his extensive study of the concept of happiness. Csikszentmihalyi relates to Abraham Maslow’s research when he indicates that peak experiences are within everyone’s reach. Consequently, the book introduces techniques that an individual could refer to in order to ensure that they achieve the feeling of fulfillment and happiness more often. Through the techniques, a person learns to separate him or herself from other people and from the environment (Csikszentmihalyi 239). Consequently, he concludes by indicating that it is possible to solve the issue of the meaning of life when the purpose of the individual comes together with the universal flow (Csikszentmihalyi 240). Examples One of the arguments that Csikszentmihalyi provides is the idea that individuals think that their best times are relaxing, receptive and passive. Even though the events may be enjoyable, they might not bring an optimal experience to the individual. However, an interesting factor to consider relates to whether people could live to look for the optimal experiences after determining that they play a vital role in happiness. However, every person is responsible for setting up the stage for achieving the optimal experiences that have an impact on their happiness. For this reason, an interesting factor to consider relates to Csikszentmihalyi’s book, which indicates that it is possible for people to determine the content of their lives consciously. A personal example in relation to the interesting aspect of Csikszentmihalyi’s book as mentioned above relates to keeping fit through regular exercising. In the initial stages after making the decision to exercise to improve my fitness levels, I had no sense of “flow” presumably because I was starting from a low fitness base. However, I began to realize a sense of flow after a few sessions of performing the exercises, which was the result of a combination of perspiration, inspiration, and the determination I had. The optimal feelings of an improved self-esteem and accomplishment developed with my progress with the activity. According to Csikszentmihalyi, the body or mind of an individual is stretched to the limit when he or she voluntarily tries to accomplish a worthwhile or challenging thing (Csikszentmihalyi 3), which was my mission. The other interesting takeout from Csikszentmihalyi’s book relates to the aspect of differentiation and integration, which involve complexity, the organization and growth of the self. The author identifies differentiation as the movement towards being unique, which involves the separation of oneself from others. The flow influences the differentiation in a person because triumphing over a challenge certainly leaves a person feeling more skilled and capable. Conversely, he identifies integration as the union with other individuals, identities and entities outside oneself (Csikszentmihalyi 41). The interesting bit of this concept emanates from the author’s view, in which he indicates that, a person should invest equal amounts of psychic energy to the two processes to achieve complexity. The achievement of this complexity also requires the individual to avoid conformity and selfishness (Csikszentmihalyi 42). For instance, my decision to exercise in order to improve my fitness levels involved the desire to achieve complexity. Consequently, I had to position myself through the dismissal of self-scrutiny and ego. This positioning involves the concentration or minding the task and not myself since the achievement of form requires a concentration on what is to be done. Csikszentmihalyi argues that it is necessary for a person to keep his consciousness in order and free up psychic energy when approaching activities that will ensure fulfillment (Csikszentmihalyi 62). For this reason, I believe that my efforts towards maintaining complexity will lead to my growth in facing the challenges and attaining skills necessary for personal fulfillment. Numerous people equate the achievement of happiness to participating in pleasurable activities. However, an interesting argument by the author is that pleasure, by itself, does not make an individual happy even though it is an essential constituent of the quality of life. Contrary to popular belief, Csikszentmihalyi provides detailed information supporting his idea, which enables a person to understand the conceptualization of happiness comprehensively. A fascinating argument that the author presents relates to the idea that pleasure assists in the maintenance of order, but it cannot create an original order in an individual’s consciousness in itself. The reason for its inability to create a new order relates to the fact that it does not produce psychological growth (Csikszentmihalyi 46). Instead, he refers to experiences of enjoyment that requires people to explore on the determination of factors likely to lead to a satisfying and rewarding life. These are inclusive of the primary sources of happiness. It is possible to relate to Csikszentmihalyi’s argument when he indicates that an individual’s sense of happiness occurs when the person is doing something difficult. He also points out that the person might not realize the happiness then. In relation to my personal goal of keeping fit, I have to enter the “flow” state. In this case, the optimal experiences I encounter relate to the tedious consideration of eating selected and healthy foods, as well as training. I do not enjoy some of these activities in the time that I am undertaking them, but I enjoy participating in others. Opinions I found Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book to be intriguing since it influenced me into thinking about what it means to achieve satisfaction or happiness in life. The other captivating element of the book is that the author does not present it as a self-help manual that an individual could use to find happiness in life. Instead, he provides details on how people can attain happiness by creating order in their consciousness in order to fight off chaotic moments. In relation to the author’s position on happiness, it is possible to argue that animals presumably experience a constant “flow” state in their lives. This argument relies on the idea that the meaning of animals’ lives is simple, which enables them to focus their energy on the achievement of fulfillment. Even though they might not find their lives as enjoyable, the simplicity allows them to determine the point of their focus. On the contrary, a significant number of complicated concerns overwhelm human beings. For this reason, it is difficult for them to determine where to focus their psychic energy in order to achieve the flow. Conversely, Csikszentmihalyi provides a description of eight characteristics that determine an enjoyable experience. However, in my opinion, I believe that he could have summed up the eight features into four fundamental aspects. Firstly achieving a state of flow requires an individual to possess skills that match the challenge that he or she is facing. Without matching skill with the problem in question, the person might end up being frustrated if the challenge is too great or bored if the skill supersedes the challenge. Secondly, to create a state of flow, a person should set clear goals to achieve. In this case, the goal should focus on the accomplishment of the task and should be well defined. The third component involves the provision of feedback, which is necessary for gauging the individual in terms of how well he or she is working towards achieving the set objective. Finally, the creation of a state of flow requires concentration, which means that a person can accomplish the tasks regardless of the presence of explicit attention. A possible argument is that the other four facets are effects and not causes leading to the state of flow. I would readily recommend the book to my friends for varied reasons. Some of my friends seem to be anxious, unhappy, or dissatisfied with the general direction of their lives. For this reason, I believe that the book will be beneficial for providing them with information on the manner in which they could find direction. One of the beneficial aspects of this book is that the author provides a scientific assessment of happiness. This scientific evaluation is crucial for it could provide my friends with the knowledge to determine the element of flow that might be missing in their lives. Identifying the missing element is likely to push them to find ways through which they could fix it. Consequently, they are likely to feel enlightened, having acquired the ability to develop a unique understanding of their self. Conversely, the book is appropriate for convincing an individual of the possibility of attaining happiness. This possibility can influence the individual into working towards experiencing constant flow. The primary duty therapeutic recreation professional is to facilitate a person’s ability to engage in leisure to deal with challenges such as illnesses or disabilities. While doing this, the professional simultaneously assists the client to increase his or her positive emotion, and enables the client to build a life of meaning and personal growth by developing his capacities. Since leisure remains to be one of the most desired human experiences, a significant number of people will continue to demand the leisure services and experiences. For this reason, Csikszentmihalyi’s book will be beneficial for the therapeutic recreation professionals since it provides them with insights necessary for developing the capacities of their patients. An important message that the book conveys to people relates to the fact that they can experience flow wherever they are. People should find out the condition that might be missing in their lives, and get creative in seeking fulfillment. When situations challenge the happiness of an individual, he or she should address the issue in a proactive and healthy manner. Such a consideration would require the individual to free up his or her psychic energy to work towards the attainment his or her life’s goals. Works cited Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow. New York: Harper & Row, 1990. Print. Read More