Book of the Week: "Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

This week's book of the week is more upbeat than one of the previous ones. Sorry for the downer with "What Made Maddy Run," but I find it's a topic of mental health to be crucial as it pertains to all college students.

I began reading the book "Flow" a few weeks ago, but I'm still in the middle of it. I'm not a fast reader even though by all accounts it may seem like I am. The Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explores why certain experiences enjoyable, while others are not through a state of flow in his national bestseller.

To truly achieve the optimal experience in everyday life is difficult. The line chart on page 74 (image is below) explains the concept best. We achieve flow when our skill sets match our challenges. If our challenges are too high and our skill sets are weak, then we will experience anxiety; if our skills are too high, but our challenges are low, we will be bored. Neither one of these are optimal experiences. We want to be challenged in relation to where our skills are.

Think of it as though you were playing a game of tennis. You're a moderate player with average skills. If you were playing against a seven year old, you'd be bored because that seven year old does not possess the skills you do. But it works the other way, too. If you were playing against Serena Williams, you would be filled with anxiety because Serena is a professional tennis player and would more likely than not intimidate you and hit the ball THROUGH the chain link fence behind you on the serve.

Finding the flow experience is, matching your challenges to your skills.

This works in everyday life as well. When you are at work, you want to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. You never want to be the smartest person in the room. (Note: if you find out you are the smartest person in the room, then maybe it's time to find a new circle.) It was what made being Harvard last year and this past summer an optimal experience. I wasn't the smartest person in the room. Clearly! Working with people who are smarter and can bring new, innovative ideas to the table.

It also forces you to raise your standards. You wouldn't, necessarily, do the same things at Harvard that you may be able to get away with a place other that is not Harvard.

This leads me into my next concept. Because something is NOT Harvard / less prestigious does not mean 1. it's any less valuable 2. it also does NOT mean you should be any less professional and not set high standards. No matter where you are there should always be a set of standards you should be consistently aiming to push past them. It's the reason athletics / sports is so great.

Athletics is the optimal flow experience. There really is nothing better than to push through limitations to see what can be achieved. A pitcher is continually striving to strike out the more batters than in his previous outing. Golfers are aiming to improve their score from one day to the next. Even if they have a career day, athletes - across all levels - are constantly looking for ways to get better.

Tom Brady is a six time Super Bowl champion with four Super Bowl MVPs and three league MVPs, but he is still out working every single day. He see stills sees himself as that sixth round draft pick, still finds holes in his game - whether it is a poor throw, bad reads or his less than fast running ability and looks to improve. He's never satisfied.

And let me let you in to a little secret: the truly greats ARE never satisfied. They are constantly striving to be better.