Psychology Archives

Relationships With Others: Finding Flow

Liking Bias: Why We Ignore Faults in People We Love

How do your relationships with others affect your quality of life? How can finding a community help you reach the flow state of mind? Because we depend on people’s affirmation, learning to improve the quality of your relationships will improve the overall quality of your life. Like any other flow activity, relationships won’t stay enjoyable without adding complexity and challenge to them over time. Learn how to find flow in your relationships with others.

How Does Consciousness Work and What Is It?

Do you want to learn to control your consciousness? How does consciousness work? What are the limits to consciousness? If you want to learn how to control your consciousness, the first step is understanding what consciousness actually is and how it works. In his book Flow, Csikszentmihalyi thoroughly covers these topics. Continue below to learn how consciousness works and what its limitations are.

What Is an Action Mindset? A Prerequisite for Success

What does it mean to have an action mindset? Do you consider yourself an action-oriented person? As the name suggests, an action mindset is a mindset that is geared towards taking action. People who have an action-oriented mindset don’t wait for the stars to align or for the muse to pay a visit. They take action even in suboptimal circumstances because non-action kills momentum. Here are five mindsets that all action-oriented people have in common.

Pain Makes You Stronger: Comfort Discourages Growth

Is it really true that anything that doesn’t kill you will make you stronger? Why will running from pain prevent you from growing? Studies show that war and cancer survivors are more grounded and able to cope with struggle after overcoming pain and adversity. While these examples are extreme, it’s also true that experiencing some sort of pain, whether physical or emotional, strengthens you as a person. Keep reading to learn how pain makes you stronger.

Mental Flow: The Mind and the Optimal Experience

What is mental flow? How can you reach a flow state of mind by thinking? There are a multitude of ways you can enter a flow state but one method that’s usually overlooked is through science. It’s possible to enter a mental flow by thinking or manipulating concepts in your mind. Here’s how you can enter a mental flow through science.

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience—Overview

What is Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience about? How can Csikszentmihalyi’s advice help you find flow in your own life? Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience is a 1990 book about reaching the “flow state” written by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. In the book, you will learn what flow is, how to control your consciousness, activities you can do that promote flow, and how achieving flow on a regular basis can improve your quality of life. Keep reading for an overview of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

The Problems With Individualism and “Me” Society

What are the problems with individualism? How can we overcome this fragile thinking? One of the problems with individualism is that it promotes fragile thinking. When we act as individuals, we’re concerned about ourselves rather than the survival and betterment of everyone. But we can overcome that with empirical thinking. Read more about the problems with individualism below.

Dealing With Rejection May Not Be Fun, But It’s Good

How can dealing with rejection be a positive thing if rejection makes you feel bad? Why does rejecting some of your options make you happier? In a culture where you’re expected to be open to all new experiences, it can be difficult to learn to say “no.” However, when you learn to reject some of your options, and deal with rejection from others, you’ll actually be happier. Keep reading to learn why dealing with rejection is beneficial.

Change Your Environment—Change Your Life

How does your environment influence your personality? What can you do to restructure your environment for success? Your environment—the people you surround yourself with, the clothes you wear, the neighborhood you live in, and the food you eat—shapes you into the person you are. If you want to become more successful, the first thing you need to do is to change your environment on all three planes: physical, social, and internal. Here is how you can recondition yourself for success by changing your environment.

Causes of Unhappiness: Csikszentmihalyi’s 2 Reasons

What are the main causes of unhappiness? Why do you need to understand what causes unhappiness before you can be happy? In his book Flow, Csikszentmihalyi says that there are two main causes of unhappiness. First, our universe is a harsh place to live in—we have to weather disasters, diseases, lack of resources, etc… On top of that, solving challenges doesn’t eradicate them forever—something new will always come up. Here’s what Csikszentmihalyi says we need to understand about unhappiness.