Finding Flow

[Plenum]

one of my favourite books from my earlier years of reading was Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. I read it when I was 18 or 19, and it had a huge impact on how I view my experience.

Here is one review:

Csikszentmihalyi's theme is happiness.

This philosopher-psychologist points out the Aristotelian concept that all other things we seek, riches, fame, power, etc. are valued only because we believe they will make us happy.

Based upon decades of research on the mystery of happiness, Csikszentmihalyi defines it as moments of self-forgetfulness when we are totally absorbed in the process of life ... intervals of peak creativity and self-expression. He expands upon the research of Abraham Maslow and agrees that peak experiences are within the reach of us all.

The theme of this book is the introduction of techniques to make this glad to be alive feeling occur more often. It may be stated that this book is no self-help step-by-step program, nor could it be.

Each of us is plowing new snow, creating a path that no one else has traveled. The guidelines and the principles are here, but the journey into the sublime uncertainty of our destiny is individual and precious. Flow is one of several extraordinary contributions by this great mind.

http://www.amazon.com/Flow-P-S-Mihaly-Cs...Descending

one very elucidating diagram is this, which exemplifies the concept of the 'Flow State':



on the y-axis, you have the Challenges of Life which could be understood as catalyst, or the experiences that we subject ourselves to. Some challenges, of course, are not totally of our choosing, but can be societal inputs, and are subject to a certain 'randomness' factor.

on the x-axis, we have our personal skill level, or how well equipped we are in terms of technique, approach, and learning ability. One could see this as the relative development (and crystallization) of the energy chakras.

in life, when there is a good match between the Challenges and the Skill Levels, there is a consonant overlap in which much Work can be done. We process the experience willingly, with vigor, and with involvement. It is not routine, and it definitely involves Attention. We are wrapped up in something novel - the 'Challenge' is something that has not been seen before.

Poor Matching of Challenges with Skills

If we have too many Skills (x-axis) , relative to the Challenge offered, then we are uninvolved (Bored).

if the Challenge (y-axis) (catalyst) is beyond our skill level, then Anxiety can be the result. This can show up as withdrawal, or wanting to disengage from the Challenge, because it's too much for us to handle. It's like throwing an amateur into the Big Leagues of Baseball - they just don't have the skills to perform there and have any sort of success. Two answers to such a situation: 1) improve one's Skill levels, or approach or 2) work on different challenges, one's more matched to one's abilities.

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[AnthroHeart]

At work I am both bored and anxious. Same with life.

[Plenum]

At work I am both bored and anxious. Same with life.

not the best combo huh?

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there have been times when I've struggled with work as well ... but it was really just a signal that I needed to make some adjustments on my end so that I would be in better shape to deal with the work situation. It took me quite a few years to work things out, with me sort of not owning up to my own responsibility in the situation. If I really and truly found my job incompatible, I would have been forced to quit. But it was definitely worth working through the difficulties. I've learnt a lot in my time there (personal growth etc).

I did have one job I was really poorly suited for ... and I got my arse fired after only a few weeks there. I didn't have the technical skills for it (I did too good of a sell job for myself at the interview haha), and it was the best thing for both sides at the end of the day.

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as for life, there have definitely been phases where I had thought I had done everything I wanted to do in life. For eg, after a heavy reading phase at university (self study), and I had pretty much opened the covers of thousands of books over a 3 or 4 year period.

I also felt the same way when I moved to this new location about 4 years ago, and that I had exhausted the pathways of spirituality that I was aware of. But soon after, I met a new friend, and we had lots of voip conversations about the past and where we had been, and I realised that there was a goldmine still to be worked through in terms of childhood and younger memories. Lots of clearing blockages from the past in other words.

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I think the thing to realise is that the self-image we hold of ourselves and who we think we are can be incomplete, and sometimes, quite inaccurate. We often find this when we meet new people, and others perceive aspects of ourselves that were underplayed or unrecognised in our routine interactions.

I also think one of the most crippling self-beliefs (one which can be re-inforced by repeated 'failures' and negative feedback/comments from others) is that we are not capable of changing or altering our life circumstances.

I think the Flow book referenced up above puts the control of the driver's wheel firmly back in our own hands, and that we have a choice in where we put our Attention (the Challenges we choose to meet), and also our own self-development (the Skills that we choose to develop). Once we stop looking for 'change without' and recognise the process of 'change within', then life becomes a different beast.



is one scared of the Lion??

[kycahi]

Thanks for this, Plenum. Part of me thinks, "Well, duh, that's obvious;" but another part has gone on with new thinking because of the new material, and applying it. It will make a difference in my life from now forward.