Book Review – “Flow: The Classic Work on how to Achieve Happiness” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

How to improve the quality of your mental focus

What do ballet dancers, chess players and rock climbers have in common? According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the author of Flow, it is that their enjoyment comes not from the sense of being in control, but the sense of exercising control in difficult situations. The author applies this insight to everyday life, aiming to describe the inner experiences that make life worthwhile.

Image credit: John Cairns | johncairns.co.uk

Why you need this book

Sometimes when I immerse myself in what I’m doing and push myself, I lose track of time and really enjoy the task at hand. Before I read this book I never really knew why. Flow helped something drop into place, looking at why I find myself at my most creative in those moments. It seems I’m not the only one either – I had to fight to read it, because so many people were asking me to borrow it when they saw the title and tagline.

But what is it that means some people are able to achieve internal control while so many others are swept away by external hardships? Csikszentmihalyi’s thesis is that you can have a more tangible impact by pushing yourself harder, but in the right way, not making yourself ill, and knowing that you are making a difference.

What the book does

At its core, Flow encourages us to aim for a strongly directed purpose that is not self-seeking. This is something that unites Bertrand Russell and Jesus Christ – two figures very rarely grouped together. Bertrand Russell said “gradually I learned to be indifferent to myself and my deficiencies; I came to centre my attention increasingly upon external objects”. And of Jesus Christ it was said, “He came not to be served but to serve”. I was thrilled by how Flow articulated truths like these.
This is a wide ranging book that includes significant contributions to the following areas:

  • how to transform a hopeless situation in to a new flow activity
  • developing your concept of who you are, and of what you want to achieve in life
  • how business executives can address mid-life crisis.

Csikszentmihalyi defines flow as ‘optimal experience’, likening it to a form of energy which can be used either to help or to destroy. (“Fire warms or burns.”) He suggests the essential steps in producing helpful flow are:

  1. Setting an overall goal and as many subgoals as are realistically feasible
  2. Finding ways of measuring progress in terms of the goals chosen
  3. Keeping concentrating on what one is doing and making finer and finer distinctions in the challenges involved in the activity
  4. Developing the skills necessary to interact with the opportunities available
  5. Keeping raising the stakes if the activity becomes boring

How flow changes your habit

Here are two examples that sum up Csikszentmihalyi’s that approach.

“Many people have impressive reference libraries, full of the most exquisite music ever produced, yet they fail to enjoy it. They listen a few times to their recording equipment, marvelling at the clarity of the sound it produces, and then forget to listen again until it is time to purchase a more advanced system. Those who make the most of the potential for enjoyment inherent in music, on the other hand, have strategies for turning the experience into flow. They begin by setting aside specific hours for listening.  When the time comes, they deepen concentration by dousing the lights, by sitting in a favourite chair, or by following some other ritual that will focus attention. They plan carefully the selection to be played and formulate specific goals for the session to come.”

Another example highlights how seeking flow is not an individualistic thing. The eminent astrophysicist, Subrahhmanyan Chandrasekhar, used to travel a long way just to teach a weekly class to two students. Both went on to win the Nobel Prize. Chandrasekhar was happy doing what he was doing, in flow, and this included being committed to investing in people and valuing the small things.

For those of us who struggle occasionally with keeping attention focussed on one thing, Csikszentmihalyi’s book is highly encouraging, because he explains that “attentional structures are flexible”. You can improve the quality of your mental focus.

Overview

This is an excellent work that connects scientific research with our everyday lives. The insights are not reassuringly classical, as indicated by the following vignette that Csikszentmihalyi cites: when a young man asked Carlyle how he should go about reforming the world, Carlyle answered, “Reform yourself. That way there will be one less rascal in the world.”

A must read.

What next?

If you have something in your life that you want to change, sign up below for my new free course, 77 Minutes to Change the World. With 7 high-quality short videos and templates, this course helps you plan your change and sustain it long term. All in just 77 minutes.

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