FINDING FLOW

Psychologytoday.com; August 1997

Level of Difficulty:***

“We all are capable of reaching that state of effortless concentration and enjoyment called “flow”.

(Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi; Link to the related video on ted.com: http://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow.html)

1.       Read the examples stated in paragraphs 2 and 3. Then state clearly what they are examples of.

2.       The writer states that “it is flow rather than happiness that makes for excellence in life”. What is the underlying reason for this?

3.       It is easy to enter flow in games such as chess, tennis, when performing a religious ritual, when playing a musical piece, when writing a computer program or when weaving a rug because all these activities……………………………………………………………………………………………….

4.       How can flow experiences enable one to acquire new skills?

5.       According to the findings of ESM, flow doesn’t occur while watching television because this is…………………………………………. But it might occur while gardening, listening to music or working because these are ……………………………………………………………………………………………

6.       State the major reason why flow is more likely at work.

7.       If you have a good salary but hate your job, should you persevere or quit?

8.       Read the concluding statement of paragraph 14 and state clearly how the writer supports this view.

9.       What are the two steps recommended for dealing with a stressful situation?

10.   What surprising revelation does the writer make about leisure time and what is the reason for this claim?

11.   The findings of the research conducted among US teenagers concerning flow activities are illogical since …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

12.   What is the reason for the above state of affairs?

13.   Why do you think reading a book provides more flow than watching TV?

14.   There is a correlation between social interaction and depression. State clearly what it is. Now state the reason for this correlation.

15.   In what way are jam sessions in jazz and a good conversation similar?

16.   The writer claims there may be a lot of external reasons making joy difficult. How does he recommend that we deal with them?

17.   According to the information provided in paragraph 26, there is a  …………………………… relationship between passive leisure and flow while there is a ……………………………………. Relationship between activities that produce the high points in one’s life and flow.

18.   What point is the writer trying to make by mentioning workers in the industrial revolution?

19.   What is the writer advising people against in the examples of vandalism and war veterans?

20.   What solution do the Buddhists offer to the problem of choice of goals?
WRITING TASK: Refer to writing files 2 for the related writing task; the causes of happiness. Use the text and information you glean from related videos on ted.com. You will be able to find the writer of this text delivering a talk if you search by author.

FINDING FLOW /KEY

This is a superb text describing the writer’s views on how to achieve a special kind of happiness called flow. It can be done in 45 minutes if it is done at upper intermediate level but will take longer at intermediate level. Allow for discussion either during or after working through the text Due to copyright issues, you will have to access the text.

1.       Flow

2.       Happiness is dependent on favorable external circumstances. The happiness that follows flow is of our own making and it leads to increasing complexity and growth in consciousness.

3.       Have a clear set of goals that require immediate responses.

4.       Because flow occurs when a person’s skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about possible.

5.       A passive activity; favorite activities.

6.       Work is much more like a game than most other things we do during the day.

7.       You should quit.

8.       If instead of spending a lot of effort trying to cut corners…

9.       Establish priorities among the demands that crowd into consciousness; match one’s skills with whatever challenges have been identified.

10.   Unless one learns how to use this time effectively, having leisure at one’s disposal does not improve the quality of life. / People often lack a clear purpose when spending time at home with family or alone.

11.   Possible answer: Although watching TV provides much less flow than doing sports or hobbies, they spend four times more time in front of the box.

12.   If a person is too tired, anxious, or lacks the discipline to overcome that initial obstacle, he or she will have to settle for something that, although less enjoyable, is more accessible.

13.   Individual answers. Something like: reading is an active form of entertainment.

14.   The less social interaction you have, the more depressed you become. The reason is that when we have to interact with another person even a stranger, our attention becomes structured by external demands.

15.   One starts with conventional elements and then introduces spontaneous variations that create exciting new combinations

16.   It is better to look suffering straight in the eye, acknowledge and accept its pretence and then get busy as soon as possible focusing on things we choose to focus on.

17.   Negative; positive.

18.   One must learn to husband time carefully in order to enjoy life in the here and now.

19.   One must choose goals that will reduce the sum total of entropy in the world.

20.   Act always as if the future of the universe depended on what you did, while laughing at yourself for thinking that whatever you do makes a difference.