Positive psychology, Martin Seligman.
Psychology’s First Three Missions
Before World War II, the field of psychology had three clear missions:
Treat mental illness;
Make life more productive and fulfilling
Identify and nurture talent.
So Seligman said that psychology it’s being focusing only on mental illness reason why is not good enough so positive psychology deals with going from not good enough to good enough.
Positive psychology was born out of the need to scientifically study the positive aspects of life. The theory of positive psychology has evolved greatly over the last few years—an ever-growing body of research has been uncovering the building blocks of happiness and well-being.
Through multiple studies, Martin Seligman found that the extent to which people were aware of and using their signature strengths (for example, courage, persistence, and wisdom) greatly impacted the quality of their lives (Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004; Seligman, 2012).
He spent years developing a theory of well-being called the PERMA model. The model comprises five elements that create the foundation of a flourishing life (Seligman, 2012; 2018):
Positive Emotions;
Engagement;
Relationships;
Meaning;
Accomplishments.
Each of these elements has three properties:
It contributes to well-being;
People pursue it for their own sakes, not just to attain the other elements;
It’s measured and defined independently from the other elements.
Complementary to this theory Míhaly Csikszentmihalyi come with Flow and worked on quality of experience and quality of life.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi discovered that people find genuine satisfaction during a state of consciousness called Flow. In this state they are completely absorbed in an activity, especially an activity which involves their creative abilities. During this “optimal experience” they feel “strong, alert, in effortless control, unselfconscious, and at the peak of their abilities.” In the footsteps of Maslow, Csikszentmihalyi insists that happiness does not simply happen. It must be prepared for and cultivated by each person, by setting challenges that are neither too demanding nor too simple for ones abilities. So, he explained that the quality of our life depends upon the quality of our experience and the quality of our experience depends on concentration, on focus, on attention.
This state of mind described by a music composer he asked is like: “You are in an ecstatic state to such a point that you feel as though you almost don’t exist. I have experienced this time and again. My hands seems devoid of myself, and I have nothing to do with what is happening. I just sit there watching it in a state of awe and wonderment. And (the music) just flows out of itself”.
We have limited cognitive capacities so flow works based on them.
Cognition - Scarce Resources:
Our limit: 7 bits of information at a time.
To discriminate: 1/18 of a second.
Capacity to absorb information from outside = aprox. 126 bits per second.
7,560 bits per minute
500,000 bits per hour aprox.
185 billion bits in a 70 year life span.
It takes 60 bits per second to listen to one person!
“Pay attention” - literally true.
So we have a very limited capacity to absorb information.
Concentration then is how much of those 126 bit can we give to the object of concentration.
Bhagavad Gita and Flow - Swami Vivekananda.
Through purity and concentration all can be done, represented by:
Sun - Knowledge (Jnana Yoga)
Water - work (Karma Yoga)
Lotus flower - devotion (Bakti Yoga)
Snake - concentration, meditation (Raja Yoga)
Through these you realizes God or spiritual reality.
Merging action and awareness:
When one works with concentration, losing all consciousness of oneself the work that is done will be infinitely better.
If the painter, losing the consciousness of his ego, becomes completely immersed in his painting, he will be able to produce masterpieces.
Karma Yoga and the Gita
The Gita teaches that all work should be done thus. He who is one with the Lord through Yoga performs all his work by becoming immersed in concentration, and does not seek any personal benefit.
Such a performance of work brings only good to the world, no evil can come out of it. Those who work thus never do anything for themselves.
Concentration:
“To me the very essence of education is concentration of mind, not the collecting of facts…”
The difference between an ordinary person and a great person lies in the degree of concentration...
How does it fell to be in flow?
Completely involved in what you are doing, focused and concentrated.
A sense of ecstasy, of being outside of everyday reality.
Great inner clarity, knowing what’s needs to be done and how well we are doing.
Knowing that the activity is doable, our skills are adequate to the task.
A sense of serenity, no worries about ourself and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego.
Intrinsic motivation, whatever produces flow becomes its own reward.
Timelessness, throughly focused one the present hours seem to pass by in minutes.
Míhaly Csikszentmihalyi then describe similarities between Yoga and Flow.
According to Yoga there are nine steps to attain perfect concentration and Flow:
Yama - external disciplines
Niyama - internal disciplines
Asana - posture
Pranayama - breath control
Pratyahara - drawing from the external world
Dharana - concentration
Dhyana - meditative absorption
Samadhi - union, integration
The 8 Characteristics of Flow
Csikszentmihalyi describes eight characteristics of flow:
Complete concentration on the task;
Clarity of goals and reward in mind and immediate feedback;
Transformation of time (speeding up/slowing down);
The experience is intrinsically rewarding;
Effortlessness and ease;
There is a balance between challenge and skills;
Actions and awareness are merged, losing self-conscious rumination;
There is a feeling of control over the task.
Who Experiences Flow?
Interestingly, the capacity to experience flow can differ from person to person. Studies suggest that those with autotelic personalities tend to experience more flow. Such people tend to do things for their own sake rather than chasing some distant external goal. This type of personality is distinguished by certain meta-skills such as high interest in life, persistence, and low self-centeredness.
In a recent study investigating associations between flow and the five personality traits, researchers found a negative correlation between flow and neuroticism and a positive correlation between flow and conscientiousness (Ullén et al., 2012).
It can be speculated that neurotic individuals are more prone to anxiety and self-criticism, which are conditions that can disrupt a flow state. In contrast, conscientious individuals are more likely to spend time mastering challenging tasks–an important piece of the flow experience, especially in the workplace.
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