Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi

Our perceptions about our lives are the outcome of many forces that shape experience, each having an impact on whether we feel good or bad.

Each of us has a picture, however vague, of what we would like to accomplish before we die. How close we get to attaining this goal becomes the measure for the quality of our lives. If it remains beyond reach, we grow resentful or resigned; if it is at least in part achieved, we experience a sense of happiness and satisfaction.

To overcome the anxieties and depressions of contemporary life, individuals must become independent of the social environment to the degree that they no longer respond exclusively in terms of its rewards and punishments.