Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.
Preparation
Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the first lecture of our new course in Positive Psychology. While some people may associate psychology with looking at what's wrong with us, and at what problems we have, there is much more to psychology than that. Positive psychology, for example, looks at how to help people become happier.
This lecture begins with a question: what makes a happy life?
Now, I'm going to give you one possible answer. A happy life is a life in which you are completely absorbed in what you do. Now, how does this compare with what you and your partner said?
This answer comes from the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and the theory of flow. Csikszentmihalyi is a psychologist who has spent much of his professional life on the study of what makes people happy and how we can find happiness.
Csikszentmihalyi suggests the theory that happiness is not caused by external events or things that happen to us. Our perception of these things and how we see these events either makes us happy or sad. In other words, if we want happiness, we have to actively look for it. However, this does not mean that we should always look for happiness! Csikszentmihalyi believed that our happiest moments happen when we are in a state of flow.
The theory of flow can be summarised like this: when we are totally involved in, or focused on, what we are doing, we are in a state of flow.
Csikszentmihalyi got the inspiration for this theory when he noticed how artists worked in a studio. They completely lost track of time, they didn't notice they were hungry or tired, and they could work for hours, even days, without stopping. Anyone I have spoken to who has experienced this state of concentration has said it's difficult to explain. The best way to explain it is that it is like being in a river and the flow of the water carries you away.
For the rest of this lecture, I will explore this theory of flow in more detail. First we will look at Csikszentmihalyi's life, and how it influenced his ideas. Then we will look at the conditions that go with a state of flow. What creates flow, exactly? Finally, we will look at activities that can help us achieve flow in our everyday lives. Will this course make you happy for life? Well, maybe. Maybe.
Right, let's get started. If you look at the next slide …
Yes, I have been in a state of flow for example when I go fishing. I can spend hours and hours only seeing the water and waiting for a fish.
Yes , i have been in state of flow when i open my text editor and start coding to build things like a web app or something like that , i feel so absorbed and lost of track . that makes me happy
Yes, i have been in state of flow, while i was playing tennis. I am full focus on the court and the ball.
I've been in a state of flow while I am dancing. Every time I dance, I lose track of time. I forget sadness and worries. I feel happy all the time.
yes i have been in state of flow if i am listening to an interested talk show . talking about our daily life problems .
I definitely was in a state of flow when I was focused on my favourite activity. I was for example during listening to the music, dancing, playing with my children, catching up with my friends, walking through the city centre of a new city as a tourist. This feeling is unbelievable and makes me alway happy.
yes surely, I have been in the condition of " state of flow" many times. for example when I was reading a book, going to a trip, play a music, being with a person whom I was interested to and etc.
Yes, I experimented the "state of flow" when I play music, and even when I read. Frecuently, people must call me several times for me to answer, so is my grade of concentration.
for me, the flow is when you do something that is not hard and not easy at the same time.
for me, it's more than happiness and everyone who had tried it said it is a good thing.
I've sometimes been in the state of flow when I play soccer, I feel like if I were flying and all my problems are gone.