Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (P.S.)

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (P.S.)

By: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi  

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Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic work, Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness and greatly improve the quality of our lives.

Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics

Release Date: 2008-07-01

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience - It's interesting that the author (Csikzentmihalyi) forewarns the reader that he or she will need full concentration on the material in Flow to grasp it completely. I found this to be entirely true. At times, I would start drifting off, since certain sections are understandably less interesting than others, but afterward, I would find that I needed to reread that part to comprehend the information in a subsequent portion of the chapter. This book is a great read, and I actively seek to find/gain optimal experiences in my day-to-day life.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Fascinating & Frustrating - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi originally wrote "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" in 1990. It's an interesting read, both fascinating and frustrating at the same time. But the main idea, the idea of flow experience, is a powerful one and should be considered during product design.

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Customer Review: 2 out of 5
Good but.......... - The subject held me until the constant and unnatural use of the female pronoun and female illustrative examples just became so irritating that I could simply no longer entertain this book. I suspect this protocol was dictated post writing by a member/s of the feminist PC brigade This appears to be a particular problem with American publications, but is also creeping into the UK. Shame, spoilt what otherwise may have been a great read.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Psychology, not Romance Novel - This book isn't a romance novel. Sure the author could have spiced it up but it's just psychology. If you love psychology, you'll find the depth in it. If you're reading for entertainment, then it may be a bit dry for you. It is in fact a very deep presentation on how the mind works and when it's at its best, and when it isn't.

Customer Review: 5 out of 5
Must Read - I read this book a few years back and was completely by blown away by the eloquence of the author and his incredible insights. I appreciate his numerous citations to history as well as traditional references and that they are purposefully not represented as footnotes. In my readings, he is singly able to looks across cultures to find universal truths.

I suppose that this book would be found in the "Self-Help" or "Psychology" section of the bookstore, but it is not a book of lists of how to be happy. It is more of a delicious dissertation... it is so rich in content. I was looking for it recently, as I was finding myself off balance and not coping with the stresses of daily life adequately.

Briefly, FLOW strives to recognize that "being in the flow" is not accidental. It is not genius. It is not based on your economic status or your state of health. It is not a given that it carries over from one aspect of your life to another easily. It's fostered by an awareness and acceptance of yourself and the idea that you need to give yourself adequate challenges. Probably the most essential part of the book for me at this time are the last two chapters that address how to make sense of tragedy and decide what it is that you are living for so you can rise above it. This book raises interesting moral questions, and above all, seems relevant in every aspect to modern life. Be prepared to be influenced in a new, positive way. I have this in paperback and now Kindle.

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