The bestselling introduction to "flow"--a groundbreaking psychological theory that shows readers how to improve the quality of life. "The way to happiness lies not in mindless hedonism, but in mindful change."--New York Times Book Review

You have heard about how a musician loses herself in her music, how a painter becomes one with the process of painting. In work, sport, conversation or hobby, you have experienced, yourself, the suspension of time, the freedom of complete absorption in activity. This is "flow," an experience that is at once demanding and rewarding--an experience that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates is one of the most enjoyable and valuable experiences a person can have. The exhaustive case studies, controlled experiments and innumerable references to historical figures, philosophers and scientists through the ages prove Csikszentmihalyi's point that flow is a singularly productive and desirable state. But the implications for its application to society are what make the book revolutionary.

 本书是“心流之父”、积极心理学大师希斯赞特米哈伊历时30年潜心研究的经典之作。他访谈了包括14位诺贝尔奖得主在内的91名创新者，分析他们的人格特征，以及他们在创新过程中的“心流”体验，总结出创造力产生的运作方式，提出了令每个人的生活变得丰富而充盈的实用建议。
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Part psychological study, part self-help book, Finding Flow is a prescriptive guide that helps us reclaim ownership of our lives. Based on a far-reaching study of thousands of individuals, Finding Flow contends that we often walk through our days unaware and out of touch with our emotional lives. Our inattention makes us constantly bounce between two extremes: during much of the day we live filled with the anxiety and pressures of our work and obligations, while during our leisure moments, we tend to live in passive boredom. The key, according to Csikszentmihalyi, is to challenge ourselves with tasks requiring a high degree of skill and commitment. Instead of watching television, play the piano. Transform a routine task by taking a different approach. In short, learn the joy of complete engagement. Thought they appear simple, the lessons in Finding Flow are life-altering.

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Creativity is about capturing those moments that make life worth living. The author's objective is to offer an understanding of what leads to these moments, be it the excitement of the artist at the easel or the scientist in the lab, so that knowledge can be used to enrich people's lives. Drawing on 100 interviews with exceptional people, from biologists and physicists to politicians and business leaders, poets and artists, as well as his 30 years of research on the subject, Csikszentmihalyi uses his famous theory to explore the creative process. He discusses such ideas as why creative individuals are often seen as selfish and arrogant, and why the tortured genius is largely a myth. Most important, he clearly explains why creativity needs to be cultivated and is necessary for the future of our country, if not the world.

Experience Sampling Method: Measuring the Quality of Everyday Life is the first book to bring together the theoretical foundations and practical applications of this indispensable methodology. Authors Joel M. Hektner, Jennifer A. Schmidt, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi provide fascinating information for anyone interested in how people go about their daily lives. Key Features: * Provides a step-by-step guide: In nontechnical prose, the book details the logistics of carrying out an Experience Sampling Method (ESM) study and guides the reader through every step of the process, from conceiving the research question to analyzing the data. In addition, a through treatment of the measurement of Csikszentmihalyi's flow describes all of the different ways in which flow can be measured. * Includes real-life examples: This book gives readers useful tips to consider before implementing a study, based on real-life examples.It illustrates how the ESM has been used to address a diverse array of topics in social science research including the phenomenology of everyday life, gender differences, family relations, work experiences, cross-cultural differences and similarities, school experiences, and mental health. * Offers a complete overview of the foundations for ESM: This is the first source to compile findings from a large and increasingly diverse research literature documenting the use of the ESM. A comprehensive overview is given of issues affecting reliability and validity of the method and empirical evidence of its psychometric properties. Intended Audience: This is a must-have resource for social and behavioral scientists who are studying the human experience in everyday life and need guidelines for how to validate and present their data. It can also be used in various advanced undergraduate and graduate research methods courses in the departments of Education, Educational Psychology, Psychology, Nursing, and Health.

How do young people envision their occupational futures? What do teenagers feel about their schooling and after-school work, and how do these experiences affect their passage to adult work? These are the questions that psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and sociologist Barbara Schneider posed in their five-year study of adolescents. The results provide an unprecedented window on society's future through which we can glimpse how today's youth are preparing themselves for the lives they will lead in the decades to come.

The meaning of things is a study of the significance of material possessions in contemporary urban life, and of the ways people carve meaning out of their domestic environment. Drawing on a survey of eighty families in Chicago who were interviewed on the subject of their feelings about common household objects, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Eugene Rochberg-Halton provide a unique perspective on materialism, American culture, and the self. They begin by reviewing what social scientists and philosophers have said about the transactions between people and things. In the model of 'personhood' that the authors develop, goal-directed action and the cultivation of meaning through signs assume central importance. They then relate theoretical issues to the results of their survey. An important finding is the distinction between objects valued for action and those valued for contemplation. The authors compare families who have warm emotional attachments to their homes with those in which a common set of positive meanings is lacking, and interpret the different patterns of involvement. They then trace the cultivation of meaning in case studies of four families. Finally, the authors address what they describe as the current crisis of environmental and material exploitation, and suggest that human capacities for the creation and redirection of meaning offer the only hope for survival. A wide range of scholars - urban and family sociologists, clinical, developmental and environmental psychologists, cultural anthropologists and philosophers, and many general readers - will find this book stimulating and compelling.

What is the nature of the aesthetic experience? Is it the same for everyone? It is possible to facilitate its occurrence? This book focuses on the psychology of the aesthetic experience and on the perception and understanding of art, suggesting ways to raise levels of visual literacy and enhance artistic enjoyment. The findings will be of importance not only to museum professionals and art educators, but also to psychologists and those interested in the nature of the aesthetic experience.

What makes a good life? Is it money? An important job? Leisure time? Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi believes our obsessive focus on such measures has led us astray. Work fills our days with anxiety and pressure, so that during our free time, we tend to live in boredom, watching TV or absorbed by our phones.
What are we missing? To answer this question, Csikszentmihalyi studied thousands of people, and he found the key. People are happiest when they challenge themselves with tasks that demand a high degree of skill and commitment, and which are undertaken for their own sake. Instead of watching television, play the piano. Take a routine chore and figure out how to do it better, faster, more efficiently. In short, learn the hidden power of complete engagement, a psychological state the author calls
. Though they appear simple, the lessons in
are life-changing.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness, unlock our potential, and greatly improve the quality of our lives.

“心流”是指我们在做某些事情时，那种全神贯注、投入忘我的状态——这种状态下，你甚至感觉不到时间的存在，在这件事情完成之后我们会有一种充满能量并且非常满足的感受。其实很多时候我们在做自己非常喜欢、有挑战并且擅长的事情的时候，就很容易体验到心流，比如爬山、游泳、打球、玩游戏、阅读、演奏乐器还有工作的时候。
心理理论之父、积极心理学奠基人米哈里•契克森米哈赖在30年前，在大量案例研究基础上，开创性地提出了“心流”的概念。本书系统阐述了心流理论，进入心流状态的条件，从日常生活、休闲娱乐、工作、人际关系等各方面，阐述如何进入心流状态。对心理学爱好者和研究者来说，《心流》是理解积极心理学等领域不可或缺的理论素材；对大众读者来说，这更是一本提升幸福感和效率的行动指南。

The second volume in the collected works of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi covers about thirty years of Csikszentmihalyi‘s work on three main and interconnected areas of study: attention, flow and positive psychology. Describing attention as psychic energy, and in the footsteps of William James, Csikszentmihalyi explores the allocation of attention, the when and where and the amount of attention humans pay to tasks and the role of attention in creating ‘experiences’, or ordered patterns of information. Taking into account information processing theories and attempts at quantifying people’s investment, the chapters deal with such topics as time budgets, and the development and use of the Experience Sampling Method of collecting data on attention in everyday life. Following the chapters on attention, and reflecting Csikszentmihalyi’s branching out into sociology and anthropology, there are chapters on the topic of adult play and leisure, and connected to that, on flow, a concept formulated and developed by Csikszentmihalyi. Flow has become a popular concept in business and management around the world, and research on the concept continues to flourish. Finally, this volume contains articles that stem from Csikszentmihalyi’s connection with Martin Seligman; they deal with concepts and theories, as well as with the development and short history, of the field and the “movement” of positive psychology.

Since the publication of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow in 1990, the notion of "flow"—the state of optimal experience in which one loses oneself in a task or activity—has become a household word. It has been endorsed by political leaders such as President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair, as well as sports coaches, business leaders, and the Wall Street Journal , which listed it as one of six books "every well-stocked business library should have." With Good Business, Csikszentmihalyi applies the proven principles of Flow to the business world, revealing the specific values that have served visionary leaders who have succeeded in running businesses that are both successful and humane. Good Business is a key text for managers and for anyone seeking to find meaning, enrichment, and satisfaction on the job.

出版三十年暢銷不墜，
啟發《刻意練習》、《異數》與《深度工作力》等著作的心理學經典。
「羅輯思維」、「得到App」萬為綱老師：「過去三十年最引人入勝的心理學概念。」
心流，一個人全神貫注於某件事而渾然忘我的境界，
這經驗是那麼美好，以致有人為了擁有它不惜付出任何代價！
建基於十數萬筆經驗取樣研究，
提出「心流」概念並以科學方法探索的開創之作。
啟發心理學、神經醫學、社會學、運動學、人類學、宗教學……眾多研究，
影響近四十年個人生活優化與文化建構的經典。
契克森米哈伊，
美國心理學會主席馬汀．塞利格曼譽為全球正向心理學研究的領航者。
40年前，他觀察到超過需求門檻以上的物質條件，再多也不會讓人感到快樂。
於是，他開始研究擁有創造力或卓越表現的人們，
像是藝術家、科學家、運動員等，
試圖理解是什麼驅使他們不以獲取名聲或財富為目的，
而為生命意義與價值感行動。
研究中發現，當他們在從事為人稱頌的事務時，
都進入了另一種現實，一種有別於日常活動的精神狀態，
在這種狀態中，時間感、存在感皆彷彿暫時消失了，
人們專注並從中獲得喜悅與滿足感，
如同進入了一種「自動運轉」的模式中；
這種體驗像是自動流發而來，故稱之「心流」。
在心流中，人們擁有最佳的內在感受。
專注，讓他暫時忘卻其它事情，藉以建立意識秩序，
自身技能與行動契機得以互相配合；
而努力克服挑戰，更往往是最充滿樂趣之刻。
本書將帶領讀者走一趟心靈之旅，
認識意識的運作，並學會駕馭之；
控制經驗反應在大腦裡的資訊，進而決定自我人生的模樣；
最終結合所有經驗，打造一個有意義的模式，
讓一個人可以駕馭生命，並感受到它的意義。
最美好的幸福時刻，
發生在一個人有意地將身體或心智能力發揮到極限，
進而完成某件具有難度或有價值的事的時候；
而真正能夠滿足人心的，是對自己的生命真實感到滿意。
最優體驗需要個人的努力與創造力，以及隨時隨地掌控意識的能力。
讓更多日常生活進入「心流」，你將擁有更快樂的人生。