Optimal Experience

Optimal Experience
Author: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 436
Release: 1992-07-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521438094

A comprehensive survey of study on the 'flow' experience, a desirable or optimal state of consciousness that enhances the psychic state.

Flow

Flow
Author: Mihaly Csikszent
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 322
Release: 1991-03-13
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0060920432

An introduction to "flow," a new field of behavioral science that offers life-fulfilling potential, explains its principles and shows how to introduce flow into all aspects of life, avoiding the interferences of disharmony.

Psychological Selection and Optimal Experience Across Cultures

Psychological Selection and Optimal Experience Across Cultures
Author: Antonella Delle Fave
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2011-02-02
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9048198763

What does Western science know about the relationship between individual well-being and cultural trends? What can learn from other cultural traditions? What do the recent advancements in positive psychology teach us on this issue, particularly the eudaimonic framework, which emphasizes the connections between personal well-being and social welfare? People grow and live in cultures that deeply influence their values, aspirations and behaviors. However, individuals in their turn play an active role in building their own goals, growth trajectories and social roles, at the same time influencing culture trends. This process, defined psychological selection, is related to the individual pursuit of well-being People preferentially select and cultivate in their lives activities, interests, and relationships associated with optimal experience, a state of deep engagement, concentration, and enjoyment. Several cross-cultural studies confirmed the positive and rewarding features of optimal experience. Based on these evidences, this book offers a new perspective in the study of human behavior. Highlighting the interplay between individual and cultural growth trajectories, it conveys a core message: educating people to enjoy engagement and involvement in activities that can be relevant and meaningful for social welfare is a premise to foster the harmonious development of human communities, and the peaceful cohabitation of cultures.

Flow in Sports

Flow in Sports
Author: Susan A. Jackson
Publisher: Human Kinetics
Total Pages: 196
Release: 1999
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780880118767

With help from sports psychology researcher Jackson, Csikszentmihalyi (human behavior, U. of Chicago) pares down his now-famous concept of flow to basic explanations and self-assessment exercises. Emphasis is on achieving a balance between challenges and skills, setting goals, taking advantage of feedback, focusing on the present, controlling the controllables, and having fun. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology

Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology
Author: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2014-08-08
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9401790884

The second volume in the collected works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi covers about thirty years of Csikszentmihalyi‘s work on three main and interconnected areas of study: attention, flow and positive psychology. Describing attention as psychic energy and in the footsteps of William James, Csikszentmihalyi explores the allocation of attention, the when and where and the amount of attention humans pay to tasks and the role of attention in creating ‘experiences’, or ordered patterns of information. Taking into account information processing theories and attempts at quantifying people’s investment, the chapters deal with such topics as time budgets and the development and use of the Experience Sampling Method of collecting data on attention in everyday life. Following the chapters on attention and reflecting Csikszentmihalyi’s branching out into sociology and anthropology, there are chapters on the topic of adult play and leisure and connected to that, on flow, a concept formulated and developed by Csikszentmihalyi. Flow has become a popular concept in business and management around the world and research on the concept continues to flourish. Finally, this volume contains articles that stem from Csikszentmihalyi’s connection with Martin Seligman; they deal with concepts and theories, as well as with the development and short history, of the field and the “movement” of positive psychology.

Maximum Climbing

Maximum Climbing
Author: Eric Horst
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2010-04-23
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0762762748

The definitive resource to brain-training for climbing—by an internationally recognized expert As physical as climbing is, it is even more mental. Ultimately, people climb with their minds—hands and feet are merely extensions of their thoughts and will. Becoming a master climber requires that you first master your mind. In Maximum Climbing, America’s best-selling author on climbing performance presents a climber’s guide to the software of the brain—one that will prove invaluable whether one's preference is bouldering, sport climbing, traditional climbing, alpine climbing, or mountaineering. Eric Hörst brings unprecedented clarity to the many cognitive and neurophysical aspects of climbing and dovetails this information into a complete program, setting forth three stages of mental training that correspond to beginner, intermediate, and elite levels of experience and commitment—the ideal template to build upon to personalize one's goals through years of climbing to come.

The Liar in Your Life

The Liar in Your Life
Author: Robert Feldman
Publisher: Twelve
Total Pages: 183
Release: 2009-08-03
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0446552194

In The Liar in Your Life, psychology professor Robert Feldman, one of the world's leading authorities on deception, draws on his immense body of knowledge to give fresh insights into how and why we lie, how our culture has become increasingly tolerant of deception, the cost it exacts on us, and what to do about it. His work is at once surprising and sobering, full of corrections for common myths and explanations of pervasive oversimplifications. Feldman examines marital infidelity, little white lies, career-driven resumé lies, and how we teach children to lie. Along the way, he reveals-despite our beliefs to the contrary- how it is nearly impossible to spot a liar (studies have shown no relationship between nervousness, lack of eye contact, or a trembling voice, and acts of deception). He also provides startling evidence of just how integral lying is to our culture; indeed, his research shows that two people, meeting for the first time, will lie to each other an average of three times in the first ten minutes of a conversation. Feldman uses this discussion of deception to explore ways we can cope with infidelity, betrayal, and mistrust, in our friends and family. He also describes the lies we tell ourselves: Sometimes, the liar in your life is the person you see in the mirror. With incisive clarity and wry wit, Feldman has written a truthful book for anyone who whose life has been touched by deception.

Finding Flow

Finding Flow
Author: Mihaly Csikszentmihalhi
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2020-03-03
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1541647459

From the bestselling author of Flow and one of the pioneers of the scientific study of happiness, an indispensable guide to living your best life. What makes a good life? Is it money? An important job? Leisure time? Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi believes our obsessive focus on such measures has led us astray. Work fills our days with anxiety and pressure, so that during our free time, we tend to live in boredom, absorbed by our screens. What are we missing? To answer this question, Csikszentmihalyi studied thousands of people, and he found the key. People are happiest when they challenge themselves with tasks that demand a high degree of skill and commitment, and which are undertaken for their own sake. Instead of scrolling on your phone, play the piano. Take a routine chore and figure out how to do it better, faster, more efficiently. In short, learn the hidden power of complete engagement, a psychological state the author calls flow. Though they appear simple, the lessons in Finding Flow are life-changing.

Optimal Experience

Optimal Experience
Author: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 432
Release: 1992-07-31
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1316583368

What constitutes enjoyment of life? Optimal Experience offers a comprehensive survey of theoretical and empirical investigations of the 'flow' experience, a desirable or optimal state of consciousness that enhances a person's psychic state. The authors show the diverse contexts and circumstances in which flow is reported in different cultures, and describe its positive emotional impacts. They reflect on ways in which the ability to experience flow affects work satisfaction, academic success, and the overall quality of life

Optimal Living 360

Optimal Living 360
Author: Sanjay Jain
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2014-02-03
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1608325830

A program for making the most out of the present and future. The biggest challenge is figuring out how to make decisions that improve your overall quality of life. Dr. Sanjay Jain introduces Integrative Decision Making, an approach that focuses on the big picture and teaches you how to make decisions to receive the highest return on investment in life.