Flow: The Psychology of Happiness

"Happiness" is a word, rather a topic, which is regarded a taboo among the broader community of Psychology.Seems strange, right?For too long psychology, as a practical subject, had been focused almost exclusively on the "shadowy" attributes of human existence. Unhappiness, sadness, depression, disorder, stress, distress, dysfunction, sorrow, hopelessness, melancholia...these are some sought after words/topics which are readily available in any random conversation or contemplation based on psychology. Our society actually depends on psychology to discover theories and remedies on these aforementioned topics, as we perceived till now.But Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi did an academic somersault by writing a book keeping in mind a word rarely adored by a psychologist: Happiness! How to achieve happiness is the central theme of this classic work and Csikszentmihalyi has done a miracle. It has touched a nerve in the collective psyche by introducing the phenomenon of "Flow" which is fundamentally a state of joy, creativity and total involvement, that can be experienced by any random human being, and the writer demonstrates how.Read this book to achieve an exhilarating feeling of transcendence (not in a metaphysical sense), a positive direction to make life worthwhile.Highly recommended. This is so much more than a mere "Self-help" treatise.

Flow: The Classic Work on How to Achieve Happiness by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi might sound like another mundane self-help guaranteeing happiness to all its readers. But it is not, luckily. This is a pop-psychology for lay person with minimum scholarly jargons (You will find terms like "Optimal Experience", "Psychic Energy", "Psychic entropy". But don’t be alarmed; it easy to understand once you get started) on how happiness/flow can be achieved based on Mihaly’s research. The core idea of the book is simple (not easy or difficult); people achieve happiness/flow/optimal experience when engaged in challenging activities and constantly strive to improve their skills.And the overall wellbeing /happiness of the individuals depend on the view he/she takes on his condition and challenges. I have a penchant towards stoic philosophy. Call it "baader-meinhof phenomenon". To me some of the ideas in this book appear very similar to stoic philosophy. The author also quotes a number of Stoic philosophers like Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius to support his study’s conclusion.There are number of ideas presented the books are fascinating; particularly on how to create an autotelic self is very interesting. Overall, it is a fascinating read on how happiness can be achieved. It one of the important books I have read this year. Highly recommended

I was initially a little apprehensive but this book is amongst the best that I have ever read and yup I have indeed read a few

The book provides brilliant perspective on how we are engaged in ‘Flow’ activities. Focuses on what matters the most, how to amuse yourself without relying on external stimulus. How our mind works, why memory matters, root cause of discontent etc. Emphasis on Consciousness and its order. You will absolutely love the chapters on ‘The flow of thought’ and ‘Work as flow’ including sub topics ‘The paradox of work’ and ‘The waste of free time’. If you are wondering why even weekends are stressful, this book has a simple answer. Go read it anyway!

A great book with good content. I like the author's narrative. Most of the examples quoted were from legit experiments or valuable research. It will be a bit difficult to comprehend towards the beginning and towards the end. Hence I would suggest you dedicate quality reading time for this one and immerse yourself in the experience to draw parallels to where all you can apply the learnings to your life and find your flow.

The book was in good condition.About the content, it's very well written and provided insights about many things that we take for granted - like the reasons which make us enjoy things, what conditions ensure that the work that we do gives us immense satisfaction. It also reveals the inner workings of high acheivers, and also the fundamental reason those high achievers can perform so greatly for decades during their lifetime.However, at times the book felt too philosophical, deep-diving into simple topics which are common knowledge for almost everyone.Overall, a decent read.

Would consider this one of the best books I have read. Mihaly has looked at all the dimensions to bring in the point of optimal experience

The book is boring

Una manera fresca de enfocar el liderazgo y conseguir sacar lo mejor de las personas. Muy recomendable y facil de leer...

Explains all I've ever been confused about, and confirms all I've ever believed about the meaning of life and living a life of success and joy. I also now understand why relationships fail and what can be done to make them long lasting and enjoyable. An absolute "must-read".

Ogni capitolo, a volte persino la singola pagina, mi porta a pensare e riflettere sul contenuto...Davvero scritto bene e rilevante nel mondo di oggi.

Korsan kitap, yazıları silik ve küçük okunmuyor, kağıt kalitesi oldukça kötü. iade

Easy to read this work pulls together neuroscience, psychology, sociology and philosophy to show a way for people to genuinely engage with life. The genius is that it does not try to suggest it has a new answer, only to try to understand and elaborate on what already works. A must read, not just to understand happiness, but for developing a life worth living.