TED Talk – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – Flow – 2004

Summary

The 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

00:00

🌏 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.

05:04

🎼 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.

10:06

🏅 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.

15:07

📊 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.

Keywords

💡World War Two

World War Two, often abbreviated as WWII, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved many of the world's nations, including all of the great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances. In the video, the speaker's childhood experiences during WWII serve as a backdrop and catalyst for their interest in understanding what makes a life worth living, as they observed the struggles of adults around them.

💡Psyche

The psyche refers to the human mind, especially in relation to their conscious and unconscious thoughts, feelings, and behavior. In the context of the video, the speaker mentions how the psyche of Europeans was traumatized by the war, leading to a projection of flying saucers and a search for a sense of order, which was a significant point in their journey towards studying psychology.

💡Carl Jung

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. He is known for his concept of synchronicity, archetypes, and the collective unconscious. The speaker discovered Jung's work by chance and was deeply influenced by his ideas, particularly regarding the psyche's response to trauma and the search for meaning.

💡Happiness

Happiness, in the video, is explored as a central theme and a life's pursuit. The speaker discusses research findings that show a consistent level of self-reported happiness over time, despite significant increases in material wealth. This suggests that happiness is not solely dependent on material well-being, which is a key point in understanding the roots of a fulfilling life.

💡Flow Experience

The flow experience is a term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who the speaker refers to as 'I' in the script. It describes a state of deep absorption and enjoyment in an activity, where one loses track of time and is fully engaged in the task at hand. The video discusses this concept as a key to understanding moments of happiness and fulfillment in people's everyday lives.

💡Creativity

Creativity in the video is examined through the lens of individuals who dedicate their lives to artistic or scientific pursuits, often without the expectation of fame or fortune. The speaker's research into the lives of creative people, such as artists and scientists, reveals their experiences of flow and the intrinsic motivation that drives them.

💡Ecstasy

Ecstasy, derived from the Greek meaning 'to stand aside,' is used in the video to describe a state of being where one steps into an alternative reality, often associated with deep engagement in creative processes. The term is illustrated through the experiences of a composer who describes composing as an ecstatic state, indicative of the profound joy and immersion in creative work.

💡Technique

Technique, in the context of the video, refers to the skills and knowledge one acquires through years of practice and immersion in a particular field. The speaker emphasizes that a minimum of ten years of technical knowledge is necessary to create something truly original and valuable, highlighting the importance of mastery in the creative process.

💡Success

Success in the video is redefined beyond traditional measures of wealth or fame. It is associated with the ability to help others and to derive personal happiness from one's work. The speaker interviews CEOs who embody this definition of success, suggesting that ethical and socially responsible business practices can lead to a meaningful and fulfilling career.

💡Good Business

The term 'Good Business' is mentioned in the context of the speaker's book, which likely explores the intersection of success, ethics, and social responsibility in the corporate world. It implies a business philosophy where the pursuit of profit is balanced with a commitment to positive societal impact, aligning with the overall theme of the video.

💡Arousal

Arousal, in the video, refers to a state of being pushed beyond one's comfort zone, which is a necessary step towards achieving flow. It is a transitional phase where individuals face challenges that are greater than their current skills, but from which they can learn and grow, ultimately leading to a heightened sense of engagement and fulfillment.

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