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11. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi As you know, “flow” is the state in which we are so completely absorbed in a task that we barely notice the passage of time. According to Csikszentmihalyi (and the research he presents), the more challenging, flow-inducing activities we can introduce into our lives, the happier we are. Among other excellent books by Csikszentmihalyi is Finding Flow and Creativity. He also wrote a book with Howard Gardner and William Damon called Good Work that explores what it means to do socially responsible, excellent work. A personal note: At one time, I thought “flow” was an either-or state. You were either in flow or not in flow. In fact, it’s more accurate to view it as a continuum. On a ten-point scale, you could be at four, at seven, at nine, and so on. The first time I heard Marty (Seligman) speak, he shared a mnemonic to help remember how Csikszentmihalyi’s name is pronounced. Touch your “cheeks.” Then think (drugs) “sent me high”. So it’s “cheeks-sent-me-high” I still can’t spell his name, but I can finally pronounce it.