TED Talk – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Flow – 2004
Summary
TLDRThe speaker reflects on the impact of World War Two on adults' ability to lead happy lives, sparking an interest in understanding what makes life fulfilling. Discovering psychology through Carl Jung's work on post-war trauma, the speaker's research delves into the roots of happiness, finding that material wealth beyond a basic level does not increase happiness. The focus shifts to the 'flow' experience, where intense engagement in activities like composing music or poetry leads to a state of ecstasy, transcending everyday consciousness and providing profound satisfaction. The speaker explores the conditions that facilitate flow and its prevalence in various cultures and professions, emphasizing the importance of aligning challenges with skills to achieve this optimal state of being.
Takeaways
- 🌏 The speaker grew up during World War II and was deeply affected by the lack of happiness in adults' lives after their security was disrupted by the war.
- 🤔 The speaker's interest in understanding what makes life worth living led to explorations in philosophy, art, religion, and eventually psychology.
- 🎓 The encounter with Carl Jung's work on the psyche and collective trauma sparked the speaker's interest in studying psychology more deeply.
- 📈 Despite significant increases in personal income over decades, surveys show that about 30% of Americans report being 'very happy,' indicating that material well-being beyond a basic level does not increase happiness.
- 🎻 The speaker's research focused on understanding happiness by studying creative individuals, such as artists and scientists, and their experiences of fulfillment despite lack of fame or fortune.
- 🎼 A leading composer described his creative process as an ecstatic state, where he felt he stepped into an alternative reality, highlighting the immersive nature of the creative experience.
- 🧘 The concept of 'ecstasy' is tied to stepping out of everyday routines and into a different reality, which is a common theme in descriptions of peak experiences across various domains.
- 🏅 The 'flow experience' is characterized by intense focus, a loss of self-consciousness, and a sense of time disappearing, often occurring when one is deeply engaged in a challenging and skillful activity.
- 📚 It takes a minimum of ten years of technical knowledge and immersion in a field to begin to create something truly original and better than what existed before.
- 🏆 Successful and ethical CEOs define success as something that helps others and contributes to personal happiness, emphasizing the importance of meaningful work.
- 🌟 The flow experience can be achieved in various activities, from artistic creation to sports, and is marked by a sense of effortless spontaneity and merging with the activity.
- 📊 The optimal flow state occurs when challenges are higher than average and skills are also higher than average, leading to a state where the activity becomes worth doing for its own sake.
Q & A
What was the speaker's age during World War Two?
-The speaker was between seven and ten years old during World War Two.
Why did the speaker become interested in understanding what contributes to a life worth living?
-The speaker became interested in this question after observing how few adults could withstand the tragedies of the war and maintain a contented, happy life.
How did the speaker first encounter psychology?
-The speaker first encountered psychology by chance at a ski resort in Switzerland, where they attended a lecture about the psyche of Europeans and their projection of flying saucers into the sky.
Who was the lecturer at the ski resort that introduced the speaker to psychology?
-The lecturer was Carl Jung.
What is the general trend in happiness levels in the United States since 1956, according to the speaker's research?
-The general trend shows that about 30% of people surveyed say their life is very happy, and this percentage has not changed despite personal income more than doubling or tripling.
What does the speaker suggest about the relationship between material well-being and happiness?
-The speaker suggests that after a certain basic point, which is around the minimum poverty level, increases in material well-being do not affect how happy people are.
What is the term used to describe the state of being completely engaged in an activity to the point where one loses track of time and self?
-The term used to describe this state is 'flow experience'.
What are the seven conditions that seem to be present when a person is in a flow state, according to the speaker?
-The seven conditions are intense focus, a sense of clarity, immediate feedback, a balance between challenges and skills, a sense of time disappearing, a loss of self-consciousness, and a feeling of being part of something larger.
How does the speaker describe the state of ecstasy in relation to creating something new?
-The speaker describes ecstasy as stepping into an alternative reality where one feels that they are not doing their ordinary everyday routines, and it is a state where one can create something new effortlessly.
What does the speaker suggest is the key to experiencing flow in everyday life?
-The speaker suggests that to experience flow in everyday life, one must be engaged in activities that challenge them and utilize their skills, pushing them beyond their comfort zone.
What is the main challenge the speaker and their colleagues are trying to address in their research?
-The main challenge they are trying to address is how to put more of everyday life into the flow channel, helping people to experience flow more frequently in their daily activities.
Outlines
🌏 War, Happiness, and the Journey into Psychology
The speaker reflects on their childhood during World War II and the impact it had on their curiosity about what makes life worth living. They recount their early attempts to find answers through philosophy, art, and religion before stumbling upon psychology through a chance encounter with Carl Jung's work. The narrative also touches on the disconnect between material wealth and happiness, citing research showing that beyond a basic income level, increased wealth does not equate to increased happiness. This sets the stage for the speaker's lifelong research into understanding the roots of happiness and contentment.
🎼 The Ecstasy of Creative Flow in Artists
This paragraph delves into the speaker's exploration of what drives creative individuals, such as composers, to dedicate their lives to their craft without the promise of fame or fortune. It highlights an interview with a leading composer from the 70s who describes the state of ecstasy experienced during the creative process. The text explains that ecstasy is a mental state where one feels detached from everyday routines and enters an alternative reality. The speaker also discusses the limitations of human attention and how complete immersion in creation can lead to a loss of self-awareness, illustrating the intense experience of being 'in the flow' during moments of high creativity.
🏅 The Universality of Flow Experience Across Disciplines
The speaker extends the concept of the 'flow experience' beyond the realm of music to other fields such as poetry, sports, and business. They share anecdotes from interviews with poets, athletes, and CEOs, all of whom describe a similar state of effortless concentration and immersion in their work. The narrative emphasizes that flow is not limited to any particular activity or culture and that it is characterized by a deep sense of enjoyment and fulfillment derived from the act of creation or performance itself. The speaker also introduces the idea that flow can be a significant factor in defining success, particularly when it contributes to both personal happiness and the well-being of others.
📊 The Science of Flow: Identifying Optimal Experiences
In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses the scientific study of flow, outlining the conditions under which it typically occurs. They describe a model that measures the balance between challenge and skill, identifying flow as a state where both are higher than average. The speaker explains that flow is most easily achieved when an individual is engaged in an activity they enjoy and are skilled at, and that this state can be scientifically measured and predicted. The paragraph concludes with a call to action to understand and promote the flow experience in everyday life, suggesting that this is a central goal of the speaker's research and advocacy.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡World War Two
💡Psyche
💡Carl Jung
💡Happiness
💡Flow Experience
💡Creativity
💡Ecstasy
💡Technique
💡Success
💡Good Business
💡Arousal
Highlights
The speaker grew up in Europe during World War Two and was struck by the difficulty adults faced in finding happiness amidst the chaos and destruction.
As a child and teenager, the speaker sought answers to what makes a life worth living through philosophy, art, religion, and eventually psychology.
The encounter with psychology happened by chance at a ski resort in Switzerland where the speaker attended a lecture on the psyche's response to war.
The lecture introduced the speaker to Carl Jung's work, which became a significant influence in their pursuit of understanding happiness.
The speaker moved to the United States to study psychology and began researching the roots of happiness.
Happiness surveys since 1956 show that about 30% of Americans report being very happy, a figure that has remained constant despite a significant increase in personal income.
Material well-being beyond a basic level does not seem to affect happiness, suggesting that other factors are more important for a satisfying life.
The speaker's research focused on understanding happiness in everyday life and the factors that contribute to a meaningful existence.
Creative individuals, such as artists and scientists, were studied to understand what drives them despite the lack of fame or fortune.
A leading composer described the ecstatic state of composing music, which is a stepping into an alternative reality.
The concept of ecstasy is related to the ability to create new realities, as seen in the composer's experience of music flowing effortlessly.
The speaker discusses the importance of technical knowledge and immersion in a field for at least ten years to achieve a state of creative flow.
Flow experiences, characterized by intense focus and a loss of self-awareness, were found across various domains, including sports and business.
Successful and ethical CEOs define success as something that helps others and contributes to personal happiness during work.
The speaker's research identified seven conditions that lead to a flow state, including intense focus, clarity, immediate feedback, and a sense of timelessness.
A model representing the everyday life of people was introduced, showing the relationship between challenge and skill in achieving flow.
The speaker's mandate is to understand how to increase the amount of everyday life spent in the flow channel, aiming to enhance overall well-being and happiness.
Transcripts
I grew up in Europe and World War two
caught me when I was between seven and
ten years old and I realized how few of
the grown-ups that I knew were able to
withstand the tragedies that the world
visited on them how few of them could
even resemble a normal contented
satisfied happy life once their job
their home their security was destroyed
by the war so I became interested in
understanding what contributed to a life
that was worth living and I tried as a
child as teenager to read philosophy and
to get involved in art and religion and
and many other ways that I could see as
a possible answer to that question and
finally I ended up encountering
psychology by chance actually I was at a
ski resort in Switzerland without any
money to actually enjoy myself because
the this the snowed had melted and there
was I didn't have money to go to a movie
but I found that under reading the
newspapers that there was to be a
presentation by someone in in a place
that has seemed in the center of Surak
and it was about flying saucers he was
going to talk and I thought well since I
can't go to the movies at least I will
go for free to listen to flying saucers
and the man who talked
at that evening lecture was very
interesting and it actually instead of
talking about little green man he talked
about how the psyche of the Europeans
had been traumatized by the war and now
they are projecting flying saucers into
the sky kind of huzzah
he talked about how the mandalas of
ancient Hindu religion were kind of
projected into the sky as a attempt to
regain some sense of order after the
chaos of war and this seemed very
interesting to me and I started reading
his books after that lecture and that
was Carl Jung who's whose name or work I
had no idea about then I came to this
country to study psychology and I
started trying to understand the these
roots of happiness this is a typical
result that many people have presented
and there are many variations on it but
this for instance shows that about 30
percent of the people surveyed in the
United States since 1956 say that their
life is very happy and that hasn't
changed at all whereas the personal
income on a scale that has been helped
constant to accommodate for inflation
has more than doubled almost tripled in
that period but you find essentially the
same results namely that after a certain
basic point which corresponds more or
less to just a few thousand dollars
about the minimum poverty level
increases in material well-being don't
seem to affect how happy people are and
in fact you can find that
the lack of basic resources material
resources contributes to unhappiness but
the increase in material resources do
not increase happiness so my research
has been focused more on
after finding out these things that
actually correspond to my own experience
I tried to understand now we're in
everyday life in our normal experience
do we do we feel really happy and to
start that those studies about 40 years
and I began to look at creative people
first artist than scientist and so forth
trying to understand what made them feel
that it was work essentially spending
their life doing things for which many
of them didn't expect either fame or
fortune but which made the life
meaningful and worth doing this was one
of the leading composers of American
music back in the 70s and the interview
was 40 pages long but this little
excerpt is a very good summary of what
he was saying during the interview and
it describes how he feels when composing
is going well and he starts by
describing it as an ecstatic state now
ecstasy in Greek meant simply to stand
to the side of something and then it
became essentially an analogy for a
mental state where you feel that you are
not doing your ordinary everyday
routines so ecstasy is essentially a
stepping into an alternative reality and
it's interesting if you think about it
how when we think about the
civilizations
that we look up to us having been
pinnacles of human achievement whether
it's China Greece in Hindu civilization
or the Mayas or Egyptians what we know
about them is really about their
ecstasy's not about their everyday life
we know the temples they built so where
people could come to experience a
different reality we know about the
circuses the arena sport arenas the
theaters these are the remains of
civilizations and they are the places
that people went to experience life in a
more concentrated more ordered form now
this man doesn't need to go to a place
like this which is also this place this
arena which is built like a Greek
amphitheatre is a place for ecstasy also
we are participating in a reality which
is different from that of everyday life
that we are used to but this man doesn't
need to go to there he needs just a
piece of paper where he can put down
little marks and as he does that he can
imagine
sounds that had not existed before in
that particular combination so when once
he gets to that point of beginning to
create like Jennifer did in her
improvisation a new reality that is a
moment of ecstasy he enters that
different reality now he says also that
this is so intense and experienced that
it feels almost as if she didn't exist
and that sounds like a kind of a
romantic exaggeration but actually our
nervous system is incapable of
processing more than about 110 bits of
information per second and in order to
hear me and understand what I'm saying
you need to process about 60 bits per
and that's why you can't hear more than
two people you can't understand more
than two people talking to you well in
when you are really involved in this
completely engaging process of creating
something new as this man does he
doesn't have enough attention left over
to monitor how his body feels or his
problems at home he can't feel even that
he's hungry or tired
his body disappears his identity
disappears from his consciousness
because he doesn't have enough attention
like none of us do to really do well
something that requires a lot of
concentration and at the same time to
feel that he exists so existence
temporarily suspended and he says that
his hand seems to be moving by itself
now I could I could look at my hand for
two weeks and I wouldn't feel any or
wonder because I can't compose but so
what he's not telling you here but in
other parts of the interview is that
obviously this automatic spontaneous
process that is describing can only
happen to someone who is very well
trained and who has developed technique
and in it has become a kind of a truism
in the study of creativity that you
can't be creating anything with less
than ten years of technical knowledge
immersion in a particular field whether
it's mathematics or music it takes that
long to be able to to begin to change
something in a way that it's better than
what was there before now when that
happens he says the music just flows out
and
because all of these people I started
interviewing this was an interview or
which is over 30 years old so many of
the people describe this as a
spontaneous flow that I called this type
of experience the flow experience and it
happens in different rearmed for
instance a poet describes it in this
form this is by a student of mine who
interviewed some of the leading writers
and poets in the United States and it
describes the same effortless
spontaneous feeling that you get when
you enter into this ecstatic state this
poet describes it as opening a door that
floats up in the sky very similar
description to what Albert Einstein gave
as to how he imagined the forces of
relativity when he was struggling with
trying to understand how it worked
but it happens in other activities for
instance this is another student of mine
Susan Jackson from Australia who did
work with some of the leading athletes
in the world and you see here in this
description of her Olympic skater the
same essential description of the
phenomenology of the inner state of the
person you don't think it goes
automatically you merge yourself with
the music and so forth it happens also
actually in the most recent book I wrote
called good business where I interviewed
some of the CEOs who have been nominated
by their peers as being both very
successful and very ethical very
socially responsible you see that these
people define success as something that
helps others and at the same time makes
you feel happy as you are working at it
and like all of these successful and
responsible CEOs say you can't have just
one of these things you to be successful
if you want a meaningful job and
successful job and it erotic is another
one of these CEOs we interviewed Qi is
the founder of body shop the prismatic
kind of natural cosmetic thing it's kind
of a passion that comes from doing the
best and having flow while you're
working this is an interesting little
quote from a sorry Booker who was at
that time starting out Sony without any
money without a product and they didn't
have product they didn't have anything
but they had an idea and the idea he had
was to establish a place of work where
engineers can feel the joy of
technological innovation be aware of
their mission to society and work to
their heart's content
I couldn't improve on this as a good
example of how flow enters the workplace
now when we do studies we have with
other colleagues around the world done
over 8,000 interviews of people from
Dominican monks through blind nuns to
Himalayan climbers to Navajo shepherds
who enjoy their work and regardless of
the culture regardless of education or
whatever there are these seven
conditions that seem to be there when a
person is in flow is this focus that
once it becomes intense leads a sense of
accessory a sense of clarity you know
exactly what you want to do from one
moment to the other you get immediate
feedback you know that what you need to
do is possible to do even though
difficult and sense of time disappears
you forget yourself you feel part of
something larger and once those
conditions are present what you are
doing becomes
worth doing for its own sake in our
studies we represent the everyday life
of people in this simple scheme and we
can measure this very precisely
actually because we live people
electronic pagers let go off 10 times a
day and whenever they go off you say
what you're doing how you feel where you
are what you're thinking about and two
things that we measure is the amount of
challenge people experience at that
moment and the amount of skills that
they feel they have at that moment so
for each person we can establish a
average which is the center of the
diagram that would be your mean level of
challenging skill which will be
different from that of anybody else but
you have a kind of a set point there
which would be in the middle if we know
what that set point is we can predict
very accurately when you will be in flow
and it will be when your challenges are
higher than average and skill Saha
higher than average and you may be doing
things very differently from other
people but for everyone that flow
channel that area there will be when you
are doing what you really like to do
play the piano probably be with your
best friend
perhaps work if work is what provides
flow for you and then the other areas
become less and less positive arousal is
still good because you are over
challenged there your skills are not
quite as high as they should be but you
can move into flow fairly easily by just
developing a little more skill so
arousal is the area where most people
learn from because that's where they are
pushed beyond their comfort zone and
that to enter going back to flow then
they develop higher skills control is
also a good place to be because there
you feel comfortable but not very
excited it's not very challenging
anymore and if you want to enter flow
from control you have to increase the
challenges so those two are ideal and
complementary areas from which flow is
easy to go into the other combinations
of challenging skill becomes
massively less optimal relaxation is
fine you still feel okay
boredom begins to be a aversive and
apathy becomes very negative you don't
feel that you doing anything you don't
use your skills there's no challenge
unfortunately a lot of people's
experience is in apathy the largest
single contributor contributor to that
experience is watching television the
next one is being in the bathroom
sitting and then even though sometimes
watching television about seven to eight
percent of the time is in flow but
that's when you choose a program you
really want to watch and you get
feedback from it so the question we are
trying to address and I'm way over time
is how to put more and more of everyday
life in that flow channel and that is
the kind of challenge that we are trying
to understand and some of you obviously
know that how to do that spontaneously
without any advice but unfortunately a
lot of people don't and that's what our
mandate is in a way to do okay
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