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Positive Engagement and

the state of Flow
Introduction to Happiness and Positive Psychology
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ACT OF KINDNESS

n  Value important human traits – ethics and morale`;

n  Generosity

n  Empathy

n  Altruism/love for fellow humans

n  How to be acknowledged: We all seek acknowledgement but how is it

given to us?
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What makes us go on with efforts
required from life?
n  Inner drive or need for self-preservation which is our basic need – see
e/g/ Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

n  Where is this will located? More than instinct?

n  A species survive as long as it members reproduce – much more

complex than that.

n  Human stage of evolution, those who survived were those who were
able to master and control changing environments. There are various
elements attached to mastery: curiosity, interest, exploration. Equal
importance to human survival.

n  The idea that the ability to operate effectively in the surroundings

fulfills a basic need – equal to reproduction.
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What makes us go on with efforts
required from life?
n  For an activity pattern to become established it has to be experienced
as enjoyable by the individual. It takes a motivational theory to
understand that what drives us.
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What makes us go on with efforts
required from life?
n  Flow experience – something the people so for the activity’s own sake.

n  ‘Flow’ – term coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

n  Intrinsic versus extrinsic goals

n  Interviewing chess players, rock climbers, athletes, and artists. The

conclusion was: they enjoy the experience so much that they are willing
to go to great lengths to experience it again = Flow Experience.

n  Flow is a subjective state that people report when they are completely
involved in something to the point of forgetting time, fatigue, and
everything else but the activity itself. – Intense experiential involvement I
moment to moment activity.
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Characteristics of Flow

n  Merging of action and awareness. Loosing sense of self-awareness.

“You’re so involved in what you’re doing you aren’t thinking about
yourself as separate from the immediate activity. You’re no longer
participant observer, only participant. You’re moving in harmony with
something else you’re part of.” (rock climber)

n  A sense of control or more precisely a lack of anxiety about losing

control. We don’t worry about whether we can succeed.

n  Altered sense of time – fully invested in the moment to moment

processes so there is little left to think about duration at all.
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Pre-conditions for flow

n  Clear set of goals – adding direction and purpose of behavior

n  A balance between perceived challenge and skills

n  Presence of clear and immediate feedback

n  Flow is motivating in itself

n  Consider the following example: A person picks up a novel to read. As she begins
reading it, she senses that her abilities are not up to the task, that the material is
too complex for her to appreciate fully. Feeling unable to take on the challenges of
the book because her skills are lacking, she will experience anxiety or boredom,
and will probably opt for a less demanding novel or activity. How- ever, if she
feels that the complexities of the book are within her capacities and is able to
digest the material, her decision either to continue reading the novel or to put it
down will be based primarily on her quality of experience while reading the book,
namely, the extent to which she finds the book involving and interesting.
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Flow – How?

n  Features of flow: Enjoyment, Absorption, Intrinsic Motivation

(finished for the love of what you are doing).

n  Share: When was the last time you felt fully immersed? What
were you doing?

n  Video with Daniel Goleman: Boredom – Flow – Frazzle

(Frazzle – when we don’t have the skills to meet the challenge)

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Flow – How?

n  Cultivating Engagement is a path / way to increase the level of

happiness and well-being in our lives but how?

n  Does it matter which kind of challenges we meet and why?

n  Exercise: Moving towards Flow (p. 213) – working in pairs –

interviewing – active listening

n  Engagement in private and professional life.

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COPING WITH STRESS

n  What is stress?

Stress is often positive - in sharpens our attention and makes us perform

at our best. Stress can come from within - thoughts and emotions – and
from outside – deadlines at work, exams, conflicts.

When we feel pressure, stress hormones are released in the human body.
Stress for a longer period of time can cause severe illness physically and
mentally.

Exercise: Group work

n  Have you felt stress – why?

n  Good ideas for handling