Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life

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Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Basic Books, New York, 1997, English

Nonfiction, General

ISBN: 9780465024117

From the Publisher. 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.

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Freeman Lau

On Freeman Lau’s Book List

A must-read, Finding Flow (published in Chinese by CITIC Press) teaches the reader how to spot details that are easily missed or dismissed in day-to-day life. It also demonstrates how to transform routine tasks by adopting a different outlook or perspective toward certain situations. The examples outlined by the author are simple but life altering.

My advice to young designers is not to read design books alone. Design is a means of expression—it is a way of thinking. Young designers should fall in love with another aspect of society like music, culture, or even ecology, and reflect back on their own lives in order to contribute to world development through their creativity.

生命的心流

必讀書之一，《生命的心流》（中文版由中信出版社出版）幫助人們重新找到生命的意義，如何換一個角度看平日忽略的細枝末節，改變生活節奏。作者用了一些簡單，卻足以改變人生軌跡的人和事，教我們如何讓工作、享樂和生活變得更好。

我建議年輕設計師不要只讀設計類書籍。設計是表達的一種方式——一種思維方式。年輕設計師應該瞭解社會的方方面面：音樂，文化，甚至生態，反思自己的生活，用創意回饋世界。

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