What really makes people glad to be alive? What are the inner experiences that make life worthwhile? For more than two decades Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi studied those states in which people report feelings of concentration and deep enjoyment. His studies revealed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is ‘flow’ – a state of concentration so focused that it amounts to complete absorption in an activity and results in the achievement of a perfect state of happiness. Flow has become the classic work on happiness and a major contribution to contemporary psychology. It examines such timeless issues as the challenge of lifelong learning; family relationships; art, sport and sex as ‘flow’; the pain of loneliness; optimal use of free time; and how to make our lives meaningful.

About the Author

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was born in Fiume, Italy, and taught in Hungary as a professor of psychology. He then relocated to the United States, where he teaches at Claremont Graduate University. His chief contributions have been to understanding creativity and happiness. And his books Good Work, The Evolving Self, Becoming Adult, Being Adolescent, and The Art Of Seeing have helped in decoding those aspects of the human mind.