"Flow" and “Creativity” books by Mihaly Csilksentmihalyi
Mihaly Csilszentmihalyi is a psychologist known for his work in the study of happiness and creativity. He is better known for his book “Flow: The Psychology of optimal experience”. He says the secret to a happy life is to experience as much flow time as possible.
What is FLOW- A highly focused state conducive to happiness and productivity. When people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter.
How do attain FLOW-
The 9 elements of Flow (leading to an Enjoyable experience)
1. Clear goals along the way
2. Immediate feedback to one’s actions
3. A balance between the challenge and skills
4. Action and awareness are merged
5. Distractions are excluded from consciousness
6. There is no worry of failure
7. Self-consciousness disappears
8. Sense of time becomes distorted
9. The activity becomes autotelic (is an end in itself)
I think of my practice of yoga… Maybe you’re a rock climber, a mountain bike rider, skier or surfer… and you instantly thought of your own physical experiences. But Flow does not have to be a physical activity. I discovered more when I read Csilszentmihalyi’s book “Creativity- The psychology of discovery and invention”
Over years in-depth interviews were conducted with close to 100 creatives (e.g. scientists, writers, artists, business people, social reformers) who were recognised within their own domain to have made ground-breaking accomplishments.
Csilksentmihalyi looked at conditions- childhood experiences, education, lifestyles, and personalities and for common threads. The individuals he studied had become successful through innovation and ground breaking changes in each domain they worked in.
They ALL had two main attributes - curiosity and obsessive perseverance. And the flow experience was present in the work of ALL of these people. They described their work as the most rewarding, enjoyable experience in life and it was universal. Csilksentmihalyi also introduces the term “autotelic”- a person who does not do things for reward, this was a recurring theme in all the interviews. Not needing expensive material possessions, money, fame or power. These people are fulfilled by their lives and do not need external rewards to keep them motivated. They are living more FULLY.
Observing that creatives tend to be more complex and more extreme personalities, they are likely to create their own environments. Many successful Creatives live by their own rhythm of life, not dictated by external routines and this helps to enhance their personal creativity. For example, Albert Einstein wore the same outfit every day just to conserve time and energy so he could spend more time on the work that was important to him, his passions…
The last chapter of the book is dedicated to how you might apply his findings to your everyday life. Here are his tips-
- Free up energy to explore. Look for novelty, bring a sense of awe and wonder to your life. Do something surprising every day.
- Make day to day experiences more enjoyable and rewarding, you can do this using the flow state and discover new challenges in simple tasks.
- Journal about your curiosity and the surprising things you do and reflect on your writings.
- Work on your ability to stay open or focused, control your attention. Meditation is the ability to relinquish control.
- Take charge of your schedule, do things at the most suitable times for your individual rhythm and work out when you have the most creative energy.
- Make time for reflection and relaxation. Review your life.
- Shape your space, make your surroundings so you are in harmony with it. The weather, nature, community, activities, your home design and belongings.
- Self-analyse. Find out what you love and what you hate about life. Learn the dynamics of your own emotions.
- Start doing more of what you love.
The book really aligned with me. I find flow in my own life, through my creativity, art, writing, and my Yoga.
Hope you learnt more about Flow and Creativity… And can use this in your life!
