shatina baker's List: Flow Project

• 1) the “Id” which represents instinctual drives or our “nature;” 2) the “Superego” which represents values or expectations imposed on us by society, our “nurture,” and 3) the “Ego,” which is the part of consciousness we are aware of and which can take control over the other parts
• genuine satisfaction during a state of consciousness called Flow. In this state they are completely absorbed in an activity, especially an activity which involves their creative abilities.
• During this “optimal experience” they feel “strong, alert, in effortless control, unselfconscious, and at the peak of their abilities.”
• quotes Marcus Aurelius approvingly when the Stoic philosopher writes: “If you are pained by external things it is not they that disturb you, but your own judgment of them. And it is in your power to wipe out that power now.”
• (Cskiszentmihalyi, 1990, p.20) The key to happiness consists in how we invest our psychic energy. When we focus our attention on a consciously chosen goal, our psychic energy literally “flows” in the direction of that goal, resulting in a re-ordering and harmony within consciousness.
• • There are clear goals every step of the way.
   
  • There is immediate feedback to one’s actions.
   
  • There is a balance between challenges and skills.
   
  • Action and awareness are merged.
   
  • Distractions are excluded from consciousness.
   
  • There is no worry of failure.
   
  • Self-consciousness disappears.
   
  • The sense of time becomes distorted.
   
  • The activity becomes an end in itself.
• • Setting goals that have clear and immediate feedback
   
  • Becoming immersed in the particular activity
   
  • Paying attention to what is happening in the moment
   
  • Learning to enjoy immediate experience
   
  • Proportioning one’s skills to the challenge at hand
• While pleasures are states that have clear sensory and emotional components, gratifications are marked by energies that demand your strengths and allow you to lose self-consciousness.
• There is a lot of research to indicate that pleasurable experience, including food, sex, and even relaxation states (taking a nap for example) are strong components of happiness, in addition to the “mindful challenge” states of flow.

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