Once we find ourselves following these steps, everything in life will acquire meaning. In my case, I’ve been investing my energy into learning about biotechnology so I can build a solution to a problem and put it in the hands of those who need it. Everything that happens to me — whether it puts me closer to my goal or not — is meaningful because I... See more

I also like Sam Harris’ approach. He says that worrying doesn’t make any sense. If you can solve the problem, then you should solve it. If you can’t solve it, then there’s nothing you can’t do and worrying will only make things worse.

An interesting way of flowing with people is through competition. To enjoy that experience, we must understand that this is not about beating the opponent, but performing as well as possible. It can a means, not an end.

Now it’s time. The anatomy of flow is the following:

1. The goal: I’d suggest that it is SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound). Specially make sure that it’s not too easy nor too hard, and preferably intrinsic (do it for yourself, not for others).


2. Focus: bring your attention to the moment. I don’t think there’s a hack for

... See more

Last but not least as a concept, is complexity . It is the result of two psychological processes called integration and differentiation . Differentiation is about paying attention to the self, while integration is about uniting the self to something beyond it.

Being too differentiated is the same as being egocentric, while being too integrated is... See more

That person who can focus their attention on whatever they want and can ignore the rest only for the time they need to accomplish their goal, is in control of their consciousness and enjoys their everyday life.

Since everything is information, that includes our minds. So why don’t we transfer the idea “you are what you eat” to “ you are what you think ”? After all, that’s the truth.

What determines what gets in and what is rejected, is attention . What I learned in Flow is as simple or complex as you internalize it: you have the power to focus your attention on the information that you need and want.

Mihaly tells us that to overcome the struggles of contemporary life, we must become independent of the social environment and find rewards or punishments in the ongoing stream of experience instead.