====== Flow ======
  The Psychology of Optimal Experience 
  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

{{amazon>0060920432}}

A book by the inventor of the concept of flow, which is basically the sense of losing yourself in an activity.  Though you may also lose yourself in a passive entertainment such as a movie, this probably isn't flow, which involves a sense of active learning and problem-solving.  Generally flow tends to happen when you are working on something that you are good enough at that you don't experience a lot of frustration and self-monitoring, but also that isn't so easy that you can do it on autopilot.  Notably, people who do more flow activities like practicing a musical instrument tend to be happier than those who consume lots of entertainment, though the people who do flow may imagine that the people being entertained are having more fun.

{{tag>unconscious psychology happiness flow stub}}