One of the most thought-provoking books that I have ever read is Flow, written in 1992 by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, at the time Chairman of the Psychology Department at The University of Chicago.

This small print, 300-page book is full of important thoughts. And it is with a lot of humility that I summarize Professor Csikszentmihalyi’s main points:

1. People are happiest when they are in a state of “flow,” the experience of being so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. These are those situations when time seems to fly, when you know there are dogs barking and sirens blaring but somehow you don’t really hear them, when normal distractions don’t even make it to your consciousness.

2. A state of “flow” is mostly likely to occur when a person pushes himself – when one’s “mind or body is stretched to the limit in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” In other words, you are most likely to “flow” when you are engaged in an activity about which you feel strongly – when your belief system is integrated with the ongoing activities required to meet the goal at hand.

3. When people pursue an activity that has meaning to them, they are single-minded. “The optimal experience is when there is order in consciousness.” Because you are in a state of flow, there are no conflicting thoughts causing stress, pain or uncertainty. You feel centered. You feel that you are on the exact right path. As a result, you feel happy.

4. When you are in a state of flow, the result is not only happiness but generally success at whatever you are pursuing. Professor Czikszentmihalyi quotes from Victor Frankl (author of another very important book titled Man’s Search for Meaning) in making what I consider to be this critical observation:

“Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue … as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.”

The upshot?

In my view, this book reinforces a major premise of other posts:

That success (and happiness) does not necessarily flow to the most talented, the best looking or even the luckiest but is rather the reward to those who pursue something about which they feel very strongly, so strongly in fact that they are willing to throw all of themselves into it and persist against the inevitable setbacks.

Jim Randel is the founder of The Skinny On book series. His new book, The Skinny on Talent, will be available on August 1st.