The Holy Grail of the human condition is Happiness. We all want to know how to “find” it. We think that passion and purpose are keys to it, but as we parcel our attention out in a hundred directions in an increasingly chaotic world, what energy is left for passion or purpose? As Viktor Frankl reminded the world, “The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it.”
As it turns out, building a life for happiness and meaning takes far less energy than randomly searching for it. Through authentic experience, focused attention, and encounters with challenge, we can prove to ourselves what we are capable of, what matters to us, what engages us and makes us feel most alive. Click the link below to hear "Finding Happiness and Achieving Flow," a conversation with
Gary Gute, PhD, co-founder of TheFlowChannel.com with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Associate Professor of Applied Human Sciences at the University of Northern Iowa. Gary researches flow and creativity and teaches the courses Creativity and the Evolution of Culture and Foundations of Positive Psychology, and the MBA course Leadership, Flow, and the Making of Meaning.
Benjamin Hunnicutt, PhD, professor of health and human physiology, University of Iowa. Ben teaches a course called Happiness for Health, has written for The Wall Street Journal, Politico, and the Huffington Post, and is the author of The Age of Experiences: Harnessing Happiness to Build a New Economy (2020).
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When people can express their happiness through their "flow state of mind" by identifying what activities put them there it builds resilience and increases their self-esteem, performance, and concentration. If individuals are trying to achieve flow, it is important to think about what makes you happy, or what your interests and skills are. Happiness emerges from focused attention, encounters with challenges, and most importantly authentic experiences.
I think the flow of happiness incorporates everything, the good, the bad, and even the borning. When bad/disappointing things happen I think we appreciate the good things we have that give us happiness. This helps us reevaluate life and appreciate the little things we have. I think its important to not always intentionally focus on whether or not we are happy in a current moment and rather just experience whats happening one step at a time.
I think this is a very interesting topic to explore. We as humans all long for happiness in a linear pattern, but often it doesn't turn out like that. The flow of happiness has its ups and downs, which is what makes everyone's flow of happiness different. This interview was very informative and gave me many new insights to explore when it comes to the flow of happiness. Everybody has to find their ways to cope and explore their emotional state.
I think authentic experience is the best way to improve flow, and mental skills associated with flow. A skill or idea that can improve our life is a great teacher, and motivator. Without a lot of authentic experience, I think it is more difficult to develop the tools needed to be consistently authentic and emotionally resilient.
I think this is such an important idea to share! The idea of not intentionally focusing on happiness and letting it happen organically, I think, is so important for people to know. People will be able to thrive more within themselves. I enjoyed listening to the discussion because their insights provided me with new information on how to stay within your happiness once you find it and changed my perspective on happiness itself, as it's not as simple as I think many people initially think.