Mihály Biography Csíkszentmihalyi (1934-2021)

"Celebres phrases from Mihály Csíkszentmihályi"

Mihály Csíkszentmihalyi is a psychologist who enjoys a lot of prestige today. Nation in 1934, in Fiume, Italy, but the relevance of its production exceeded the borders of its native country and has reached different parts of the world to this day.

His contributions to positive psychology have been very significant; It is even cited in other areas, such as business, although we can also apply its principles in everyday life.

He worked as a professor in California, at the University of Claremont. In the past, he also exercised as a manager in the Department of Psychology of the University of Chicago, while working in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Lake Forest University.

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi has addressed a multiplicity of issues, among which those concerning happiness, subjective well -being, creativity and fun stand out, although His idea with greater reach has been the flow, an issue that took many years to deepen.

Content

• Mihály Csíkszentmihalyi: her life
• Mihály and the experience of flowing
  • Similar states and phrases
  • Bibliography

Mihály Csíkszentmihalyi: her life

Mihály CSIKSZENTMIHALYI graduated in 1960 and was a doctorate in 1965, at the University of Chicago.

He has two children, both teachers. His son Christopher Csíkszentmihályi exercises as an associated professor at the Mit Media laboratory, and his other son, Mark Csikszentmihalyi, is a professor on the subject of philosophical traditions in China and East Asia, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Mihály Csikszentmihalyi learned to dominate the Hungarian, German and Italian language. However, not everything in his life was a panorama full of joy, because, During World War II a time remained in the fields of prisoners. It was there, in the midst of adversity where he noticed many important things that would help him later develop his prominent flow theory.

While he was in the fields for prisoners, Mihály noticed that when he played chess could divert his attention completely from the environment and what happened. This, for him, was something that helped him face the situation better than other prisoners.

It is worth noting that, among his significant experiences, he also highlights having been able to hear a conference of Carl Jung, since this had an enormous influence on him.

Mihály came to ensure:

"When I was a child in the war, I had seen something drastically incorrect in the way adults, the adults they trusted, organized their thoughts. I was trying to find a better system to order my life. Jung seemed to be, trying to deal with some of the most positive aspects of human experience ".

Subsequently, Mihály dedicated himself to the study of Jung's thinking and Sigmund Freud, so he made the decision to study psychology.

Mihály Csíkszentmihalyi died in 2021 at the age of 88 after a long life full of personal and professional contributions.

Mihály and the experience of flowing

Mihály has a very noticeable job entitled "Flow: the psychology of optimal experiences "; In this work he developed his approach that People are happier when they are in that state or experience of "flow".

"Flow" means letting yourself be absorbed or concentrated completely on an activity -as it did with chess-.  This feeling is also called "being in wave".

When a person is in this experience of flow, he feels joy, freedom, skill and commitment, and it is thus that he manages to forget aspects such as self, food or time.

In his own words define flow as:

"The fact of feeling completely committed to the activity by itself. The ego disappears. Time returns. All action, movement or thought inevitably arise from action, movement and previous thought, it is as if we were playing jazz. Your whole being is there, and you are applying your faculties to the fullest ".

Similar states and phrases

Some people have found that the flow experience is related to the focused care process, similar to what happens when we meditate, do yoga, or those who practice martial arts, since there is a ability to allow connecting with that state of flow.

It could be said that flow implies a state in which motivation and attention are intrinsically related, thus obtaining a form of harmony.

Some phrases of Mihály that describe this state are the following:

1. "In Flow state, Our concentration is focused on what we do. A unified mind is required for close adjustment between challenges and skills ".
2. "The link between flow and the happinessIt depends on whether the flow producing activity is complex, if it leads to new challenges and thus personal and cultural growth ".
3. "In many ways, the secret to the happinessis to learn to get the flowof almost everything we do, including family work and work. If almost everything we do, it is worth doing so, then there is nothing wasted in life ".
4. "The Schools They generally fail to teach how beautiful science and mathematics can be; They teach the routine of literature and history instead of adventure ".
5. "When something seems interesting to you, follow him".
6. "Have as many ideas as possible and try to produce original ideas".
7. "To maintain pleasure for something, its complexity increases".

If one day you feel that you want to experience a state similar to this, do not hesitate to contact a positive psychology specialist. Surely you will have many contributions for teaching you.

Positive Psychology: How to get the most out of our lives

Bibliography

• Csikszentmihalyi, m. (2014). Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology. In Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology.
• Csikszentmihalyi, m. (2014). Applications of Flow in Human Development and Education. In Applications of Flow in Human Development and Education.
• Kleiber, d. TO. (1992). Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Journal of Leisure Research.
• Nakamura, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, m. (2014). The Concept of Flow. In Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology: The Collected Works of Mihaly CSIKSZENTMIHALYI.
• Seligman, m. AND. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, m. (2014). POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY: AN Introduction. In Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology: The Collected Works of Mihaly CSIKSZENTMIHALYI.