Flow Makes Us Happy
In order to achieve happiness, it is necessary not to stay too long in the same place. And this does not have to do with moving house every so often, but with changing and improving. According to psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, from Stanford University, it is necessary to be in a state of “flow”, where pleasure and enjoyment are the rule rather than the exception.
Have you ever wondered why when you are having a great time with your partner, your friends or your children, time literally seems to “fly”? Although there is no scientific explanation for this, the truth is that happiness makes thoughts focus on other things. Satisfaction does not let you stay still, it helps you to flow.
As Csikszentmihalyi indicates, we can divide people into two large groups: those who are worried and those who are bored. Fortunately, we can all become part of a select team, that of those who flow. What does it mean? That we have to do something to be happy.
In addition, when we are not doing an activity, the mind begins to get bored and get carried away by negativity. Surely it has happened to you more than once, that without realizing it, you are increasingly depressed on a Sunday afternoon or a rainy day.
The concept of flow is trying to make us more aware of what makes us happy and to be in that state of constantly satisfying and pleasant euphoria. Do you think it is not possible? Well, many are experiencing it right now, while you are reading this article.
In order to achieve that state of flow, where everything is wonderful and seems to have come out of a story (and the best thing is that it is real, not a dream), you must take each task as if it were a game. If you feel that your work is monotonous, use your imagination to make it fun, do it in a different way, invent a technique to entertain yourself and not be overwhelmed by monotony.
On the other hand, you need to set yourself an achievable goal and once you reach it, continue with another goal. That’s a great way to flow. But be careful, not everything in life is fulfilling dreams, but also enjoying the way you make them come true. This means that although you have to be focused on the point of arrival, do not forget to look to the sides and enjoy the landscape.
That also ties into other advice offered by Dr. Csikszentmihalyi, which indicates that the more you seek success, the more elusive it will be for you. Unlike what is believed, success and happiness are a consequence of effort and dedication, but not of whim. You must want to be successful as something bigger or more rewarding for you, not only as the intention to obtain more and more power or money, which ultimately will not be what makes life happy, but quite the opposite.
Keep in mind that to reach this state of flow it is good that you learn how to control your mind. It is not impossible, nobody better than you to achieve it. At the precise moment that your head begins to speak in a way that you do not like or that you know will not lead you to a good port, detach yourself, like the wind does with the clouds in the sky.
From now on, then, it begins to be more like the water of a river and not like that of a pond. This liquid has the ability to adopt any shape, it does not have rigidity and serves to give life. Travel your paths, through valleys, mountains and forests, avoid obstacles, but never, under any exception, stop flowing.
