What makes people happy? What contributes to a life worth living? Well, the American Dream is to make the most money, have the biggest house, the best cars, the most toys and take the best vacations. It’s what we think will make us happy. But, does it?
Research shows that our happiness is actually not at all linked to our income and that an increase in material resources and wealth does not increase our happiness. So, what does?
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi says that true happiness comes from being in a state of flow:
His research shows that the state of flow comes from
1. Being totally focused, concentrated and totally involved.
2. Having a sense of ecstasy – that something special is going on outside of normal, every day reality.
3. Having a total sense of clarity.
4. Knowing that we are capable and competent.
5. Having a sense of serenity – no worries, beyond ego.
6. Having a sense of timelessness.
7. Having intrinsic motivation – the activity is its own reward – you do the work for the sake of the work, not for any reward.
He also relates the flow state to how challenged we are and how much skill we are using. The state of flow is present when we are highly challenged and using a high level of skill. Compare this to a state of boredom or apathy when we are experiencing low levels of both challenge and the use of our skills.
So, more happiness comes from more flow. More flow comes from being more challenged and using more skills. Use these ideas to experiment with creating more flow and more happiness in your daily life.
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