Happiness Research

Author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says in "FLOW," "More than anything else, people seek happiness." The author is a professor and former chairman of the Department of Psychology at the University of Chicago. He spent 20 years researching topics related to this psychology of optimal experience.

Happiness is sought for its own sake, but all our other goals -- health, beauty, money or power -- are valued because we expect they will make us happy. Mihaly began his happiness research by studying hundreds of "experts" -- artists, athletes, musicians, chess masters, and surgeons -- in other words people who spend their time doing the activities they prefer. From their accounts he developed a theory of optimal experience based on what he calls flow -- "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 sheer sake of doing it."

Further research indicated that flow wasn't limited to experts. Men and women, rich and poor, young and old, regardless of culture, can experience flow. The flow research included old women in Korea, adults in Thailand and India, teenagers in Tokyo, Navajo sheepherders, and people working on assembly lines in Chicago. And the research concludes that the happiest people spend much time in a state of flow.

In exploring this research, it became obvious to me that the common factor in flow is a natural altered state of consciousness. Mihaly claims flow is addictive. Altered states are addictive, because the brain releases soothing beta-endorphins into the central nervous system. These brain/mind opiates are chemically close to opium. Also, an eyes-open altered state is a matter of focusing your attention on one thing, which is the key factor in flow.

Although Mihaly does not mention altered states, his work shows that when psychic energy (attention) is invested in realistic goals and when your skills match the opportunities for action, flow results. The pursuit of your goals brings such intense concentration that you momentarily forget everything else. Time disappears. In so doing you achieve control over your psychic energy, and by stretching skills and reaching toward higher challenges, you become an increasingly extraordinary individual.

The research clearly states that people who regularly experience flow are stronger people who can more easily handle life's ups and down without caving in. To fully enjoy your life, learn to transform your activities into flow.

As a writer, I'm in flow most of the day. The same is true if I'm reading or playing tennis. Mihaly often mentions tennis as a flow activity because of the need for intense concentration to monitor feedback.

The majority of people diffuse their attention in hundreds of random ways. Those who flow, focus their attention intentionally upon the task at hand. It really amounts to knowing your goal, concentrating on it, remaining determined, and having the self-discipline to complete what you are doing.

You create yourself by how you invest your energy. When it is under control your attention is focused. Attention is your most important tool in the task of improving the quality of your experience.

1. Choose a task that you have a good chance of completing.
2. You need the ability to focus your concentration upon the task at hand.
3. Clear goals are necessary, allowing you to focus your concentration.
4. The task provides feedback, which allows you to focus your concentration.
5. You get so involved in the task that you forget about everything else.
6. The task allows you to exercise a sense of control over your actions.
7. You become so focused on the task that self-concern disappears. (Your sense of self returns, stronger than ever after the flow experience is completed.)
8. You lose your sense of time; hours seems to pass in minutes, minutes can stretch out and seem like hours.

The combination of these factors causes a sense of deep enjoyment that is intensely gratifying. With this knowledge, it's possible to achieve control of consciousness and turn even routine tasks into an experience of flow.

Remember, flow is when all your relevant skills are needed to cope with the challenges of a task, and you become completely absorbed by the activity. No attention is left to process any information but what the
activity offers.

Those who naturally experience flow appear to have an "autotelic" self. The word is made up of two Greek words meaning "self goal." Most people have goals that are shaped by biological needs and social conventions. In other words, their goals are generated externally. Those with an autotelic self have self-contained goals, and they accept few if any goals from outside themselves. They aren't bored, seldom experience anxiety, and easily translate threats into challenges, thus maintaining inner harmony.

An important aspect of an autotelic self is the development of the self-discipline necessary to sustain your involvement until you accomplish your goal. Finally, you must learn to enjoy the immediate experience -- live in the now while working for the accomplishment of the goal in the future.

Once you are flowing, the experience drives you on to more creativity and achievement. The development of increasingly refined skills to sustain enjoyment is the actual power behind the evolution of culture.