On Monday 3rd August 2020 PropelHer’s Book Club discussed Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
In this summary of Flow, I’ll be briefly summarising the book to help you make a decision about whether you should buy a copy of the book for yourself.
Flow summarises “decades of research on the positive aspects of human experience – joy, creativity, the process of total involvement with life”. Originally published in 1990, Mihaly aimed to share his research and findings in a book that was “direct and user-friendly”.
The beginning of the books focuses on happiness and Mihaly explains that the ultimate purpose of the book is to answer the question “When do you feel most happy?”. Mihaly believes that consciousness, and our control of our consciousness, plays a major role in achieving happiness. This results in a whole chapter dedicated to the anatomy of the consciousness.
The book is called flow for a reason, because that is the name of the theory that Mihaly believes is essential to optimal experience. In Chapter 4 he outlines the conditions that conditions that are needed for an individual to experience flow. Then the book goes on to explain how flow can be experienced through the body, in thought and through work.
The book ends by focusing on meaning. Here Mihaly aims to help you not experience in just one area of your life, but really be able to bring flow to multiple aspects of your life and ultimately help you maximise the amount of time you experience happiness.
Like the sound of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi? Why not buy a copy of the book and read it yourself?
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience was read as part of PropelHer’s Book Club. PropelHer’s Book Club is a personal development book club for ambitious women that meet up virtually and in London. Every month PropelHer’s Book Club reads a different book to help ambitious women concentrate on their personal development and professional success. You can see what else we have read so far here. If you would like to join PropelHer’s Book Club you can find full details here.
Prefer the DIY method but would like to connect with other readers? Click here.
And don’t forget to share your book pictures! Tag @Propelherorg or use the hashtag #PropelHer
