Flow

When Csikszentmihalyi sticks to his research - the insights of individual task/goal framing and strategy - this book is great. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the book is not that, instead philosophizing on the implications of this research for society and the world as a whole. This is complete with blatant racism ("savage" comes out a few times, as does the theory that indigenous Caribbean Islanders died because they were unable to attain a flow state and so lost interest in having sex), as well as less problematic but equally factually incorrect observations (e.g. all animals other than humans are purely instinct driven, money doesn't relate to scientific output, etc.). Some of these, to be fair, were at the time of writing unknown. But Csikszentmihalyi tendency to wildly extrapolate from his research, combined with a complete ignorance of societal and macro forces, fatally handicaps this book. He also commits the cardinal sin of armchair diagnosing public figures, and using anecdotes to indicate that individual framing alone is enough to overcome macro forces, showing literally no quantitative evidence to back up these pronouncements. You're better off reading one of his peer reviewed papers

this book wouldn't lose even a bit of the important if it were half its size;
lots of water, and unusual side notes that don't relate that much to stuff he writes 2-3 pages prior;
I guess the ever-green byproducts of popular science and self-help brochures will never cease to exist.
Too much to earn in the 'feel-good inc' business.

Some ideas are good, but these are much older than all the 'studies' done by the author.
But given the sporadic nature of his writings - it jumps from topic to topic, back and forth, so you never know what the case he made was actually about.
The collection of stories is ok.
The book - not so much.

I've heard so many people talk about it but the concept never hit until I read this.

In summary: Everything Is Flow.

Joy? Flow.
Friendship? Flow.
Philosophy? You better believe that's Flow.

Meh. Not what I expected/wanted - it's more about "what are the activities that tend to provide more flow" / "what are the personality traits that tend to induce more flow", and it feels in the useless middle between "theory that would be interesting" and "practical advice" (so consequently, it's... theoretical advice, I guess). I also found the whole "flow is the One And Only Way To Get Happiness" stance annoying (and actually not necessarily what I wanted either), and somewhat judgemental at times.

The first part of the book exposes interesting ideas I could relate to.

The last few chapters were really hard to get through. It's probably my lack of being able to process more abstract information. I might need to give it a try when I'm older and wiser. (<= NOTE TO FUTURE SELF)

Interesting read. I first picked up this book in 2005 after coming across it being referenced in game design theory (probably in A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster, but I don't have it handy here to confirm that). I never did read more than a few pages back then, as those few pages convinced me it was more of a self-help book, and I wasn't really interested in that. The book ended up sitting on my shelf, and later got put away in a box.

My interest in game design theory continued, and I continued to see occasional references to Flow. When I recently came across the box containing the book I decided to give it another try.

It basically hammers the same points home over and over again, and I think that I probably got the core of what's being said here from some of those earlier references that I ran across in game design theory. Still, the points that are hammered home are interesting ones, and have given me some things to think about. I can definitely see having experienced "flow" in my own life as a result of the process he describes, and now that I'm more conscious of the process, I might be able to experience it more often.

1) ''[Happiness] is not the result of good fortune or random chance. It is not something that money can buy or power command. It does not depend on outside events, but, rather, on how we interpret them. Happiness, in fact, is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person.''

2) ''When people reflect on how it feels when their experience is most positive, they mention at least one, and often all, of the following. First, the experience usually occurs when we confront tasks we have a chance of completing. Second, we must be able to concentrate on what we are doing. Third and fourth, the concentration is usually possible because the task undertaken has clear goals and provides immediate feedback. Fifth, one acts with a deep but effortless involvement that removes from awareness the worries and frustrations of everyday life. Sixth, enjoyable experiences allow people to exercise a sense of control over their actions. Seventh, concern for the self disappears, yet paradoxically the sense of self emerges stronger after the flow experience is over. Finally, the sense of the duration of time is altered; hours pass by in minutes, and minutes can stretch out to seem like hours.''

3) ''There are two words whose meanings reflect our somewhat warped attitudes toward levels of commitment to physical or mental activities. These are the terms amateur and dilettante. Nowadays these labels are slightly derogatory. An amateur or a dilettante is someone not quite up to par, a person not to be taken very seriously, one whose performance falls short of professional standards. But originally, ''amateur,'' from the Latin verb amare, ''to love,'' referred to a person who loved what he was doing. Similarly a ''dilettante,'' from the Latin delectare, ''to find delight in,'' was someone who enjoyed a given activity. The earliest meanings of these words therefore drew attention to experiences rather than accomplishments; they described the subjective rewards individuals gained from doing things, instead of focusing on how well they were achieving. Nothing illustrates as clearly our changing attitudes toward the value of experience as the fate of these two words.''

4) ''The autotelic self transforms potentially entropic experience into flow. Therefore the rules for developing such a self are simple, and they derive directly from the flow model. Briefly, they can be summarized as follows: 1. Setting goals. To be able to experience flow, one must have clear goals to strive for. [...] 2. Becoming immersed in the activity. After choosing a system of action, a person with an autotelic personality grows deeply involved with whatever he is doing. [...] 3. Paying attention to what is happening. Concentration leads to involvement, which can only be maintained by constant inputs of attention. [...] 4. Learning to enjoy immediate experience. The outcome of having an autotelic self [...] is that one can enjoy life even when objective circumstances are brutish and nasty.''