Flow - The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

By Jeffrey Le Compte
This great book from one of the founding fathers of positive psychology is no pop psychology book as it is backed up by years of scientific research. It outlines his theory that people are most happy when they are in a state of flow. This is where you are in a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity and situation that you are in right at the time.

Flow is "the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sake of doing it." It is an intrinsically rewarding experience, and it can also help you achieve a goal, for example winning a deal or improving skills in areas such as sports or games. The idea of flow is identical to what many people call being in the zone or in the groove.

To get into the flow state, you must find a balance between the challenge of the task and the level of skill. If the task is too easy or too difficult, flow cannot occur. You must match both skill level and challenge level and both must be at a high level. If you match skill and challenge at a low level apathy results.

I am sure you have all at some time experienced flow and the kind of high it brings. The Ideas in Flow have massive impact on how we perform our work and business. If you can take this information and use it to redesign you work you will not only be happier but also much more productive and richer. Something to think about and strive for.