Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - My Top 5 Takeaways from Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Episode Date: March 18, 2019

It’s high time I reviewed this book because it’s one of my favorite self-development books. To understand why, close your eyes and think back to an instance where you were doing something that made your consciousness feel harmoniously ordered, that absorbed all of your focus and attention, and that dissolved your awareness of time, worries, and even yourself. Maybe it was playing an instrument, spending an evening with loved ones, coding a website, cooking a meal, driving a car, whatever. Csikszentmihalyi refers to such occurrences as “optimal experiences” and the psychological and emotional state they produce as “flow,” and this book is a scientific investigation of these phenomena and how to increase their frequency and intensity in our lives. Flow is cool, clinical, and sometimes discomfiting, which some people find off-putting. It wasn’t written to lift spirits, alleviate insecurities, or justify weaknesses and failures, and it doesn’t contain flowery prose or resonant stories. Instead, this book reads more like a friendly but firm textbook that doesn’t care much about your problems or feelings, but don’t let that stop you from absorbing and applying its wisdom, which revolves around this central premise: The more time we can spend in a state of flow, the less time we’ll have to be disconnected, dissatisfied, or dejected. What’s more, as flow-producing activities are almost always active and constructive in nature, the more we engage in them, the more conscious, competent, and complex we become as individuals and the more stimulating and rewarding our progress and achievements are. Thus, Csikszentmihalyi believes one of the most powerful ways to improve our quality of life is to spend as much of it in flow as we can. And although he doesn’t provide a pat, step-by-step checklist to follow, he does give enough pragmatic principles and real-world examples for you to understand how to lift the information off the pages and incorporate it successfully into your day-to-day. For me, the flow framework has helped me make better choices in just about every area of my life because I’ve found the more flow-producing activities I engage in, the more my real-world conditions improve and the better I feel about them. To do that, sometimes I modify activities to incorporate elements that are conducive to flow (more on this in a minute) and other times I simply say no to things that I know I’m going to find boring and unengaging no matter what I do. Let’s get to the takeaways. Want to be notified when my next book recommendation goes live? Hop on my email list and you’ll get each new installment delivered directly to your inbox: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

Hey, this is Mike from Muscle for Life, and I'm often asked about books. People ask me for book recommendations on various topics. They ask me what book I am currently reading and what books I have recently read and what my favorite books are and so forth. And as an avid reader, I am always happy to oblige and get some book recommendations in return as well. I also just like to encourage people to read as much as possible because I think that knowledge benefits you much like compound interest benefits your bank account in that the more you learn, the more you know, and the more

you know, the more you can do, and the more you can do, the more opportunities you have to succeed. And on the flip side, I also believe that there is little hope for people who aren't perpetual learners. I know that might sound a little bit pessimistic or cynical to you, but let's face it, life is overwhelmingly complex and chaotic. And if we look around, we can find plenty of evidence that it simply suffocates and devours the lazy and ignorant. So if you are a bookworm and you're on the lookout for good reads, or if you'd like to just get into the habit of reading more, then this book club is for you. The idea is very simple. Every week, I'm going to share a book that I've particularly liked, and I'm going to tell you why I liked it and give you several of my key takeaways from it.

I'm also going to keep these episodes short and sweet so you can quickly decide whether or not a book is likely to be up your alley or not. This is where I would normally plug a sponsor to pay the bills, but I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in. So instead, I'm just going to quickly tell you about something of mine. Specifically, my 100% natural post-workout supplement Recharge. Recharge helps you gain muscle and strength faster and recover better from your workouts. And it's also naturally sweetened and flavored, and it contains no artificial food dyes, fillers, or other unnecessary junk. All that is why it has over 700 reviews on Amazon with a four and a half star average and another 200 on my website also with a four and a half star average. So if you want to be able to push harder in the gym, train more frequently, and get more out of your workouts, then you want to head over to www.legionathletics.com

and pick up a bottle of Recharge today. And just to show how much I appreciate my podcast peeps, use the coupon code PODCAST at checkout and you will save 10% on your entire order. And lastly, you should also know that I have a very simple 100% money back guarantee that works like this. You either love my stuff or you get your money back, period.

You don't have to return the products. You don't have to fill out forms. You don't have to jump through any other hoops or go through any other shenanigans. So you really can't lose here. Head over to www.Legionathletics.com now, place your order, and see for yourself why my supplements have thousands of rave reviews all over the internet. And if for whatever reason, they're just not for you, contact us and we will give you a full refund on the spot. Alrighty, that is enough shameless plugging for now, at least. Let's get to the show.

All righty, let's get to the featured book, which is Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Yes, that is a tongue twister. And it is high time that I reviewed this book because it is one of my all-time favorite self-development books, one that I constantly recommend to people who ask for book recommendations for living a better and more fulfilling life. And to understand why, do something for me. Close your eyes and think back to an instance where you were doing something that made your consciousness feel harmoniously ordered, that absorbed all of your focus and attention, and that dissolved your awareness of time, worries, and even yourself. So maybe it was playing an instrument or spending an evening with loved ones or coding a website, cooking a meal, driving a car, whatever.

Csikszentmihalyi refers to these occurrences as optimal experiences and the psychological and emotional state they produce as flow. And this book is a scientific investigation of these phenomena and how to increase their frequency and intensity in our lives. Now, some people find this book a bit off-putting because it is cool, clinical, and sometimes discomforting. It was definitely not written to just lift our spirits or alleviate our insecurities or justify our weaknesses and failures. And it

doesn't contain much in the way of flowery prose or deeply resonant stories. Instead, it reads more like a friendly but firm textbook that doesn't really care very much about your problems or feelings. But don't let that stop you from absorbing and applying this book's wisdom, which revolves around a central premise that the more time we can spend in a state of flow, the less time we'll have to be disconnected, dissatisfied, or dejected. What's more, as flow-producing activities are almost always active and constructive in nature, the more we engage in them, the more conscious, competent, and complex we become, and the more stimulating and rewarding our progress and achievements are. Therefore, Csikszentmihalyi

believes one of the most powerful ways to improve our quality of life is to spend as much time of it in flow as we can. And although he doesn't provide a pat step-by-step checklist to follow to do this, he does give enough pragmatic principles and real world examples for you to understand how to lift the information off the pages and incorporate it successfully into your day-to-day. For me personally, the flow framework has really helped me make better choices in just about every area of my life because I've found that the more flow-producing activities I engage in, the more real-world conditions improve and the better I feel about them. Okay, so let's get to the takeaways. First takeaway, quote, the essential steps in this process are A, to set an overall goal and as many sub-goals as are realistically feasible.

B, to find ways of measuring progress in terms of the goals chosen. C, to keep concentrating on what one is doing and to keep making finer and finer distinctions in the challenges involved in the activity. D, to develop the skills necessary to interact with the opportunities. So my note here is this is Csikszentmihalyi's formula for achieving flow in a nutshell. And if you think back to times where you achieved flow, you'll probably find each of those points in play to one degree or another. Now, one of the points that is often overlooked but worth underscoring is the second one, finding ways of measuring progress. Just setting goals and then working at them is not necessarily enough to unlock flow. You also have to know how you are doing. This way, you can discover what works and what doesn't,

and then adjust your ideas and actions accordingly, thereby refining your thinking and your behaviors further and further over time. So take your work, for example. If you can't boil each job you do or hat you wear down to a single number, one number that is plotted on a graph that you monitor regularly, you will always struggle to achieve flow in your work. Or let's take fitness, recording your workouts and recording your measurements like your weight and the size of your waist and other body parts, and then using that data to track and visualize your progress is one of the easiest ways to get hooked on the process of gaining muscle and strength, losing fat and getting healthy. Now, this point of measuring progress really applies to any activity that you want to

elevate and derive maximum enjoyment from. If you are going to set a goal, make sure you figure out how to measure progress toward it and then do just that. It might seem like a chore at first, it often does, but it doesn't take long to start paying dividends. All right, the second takeaway quote. Contrary to what we usually believe, moments like these, the best moments in our lives, are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times, although such experiences can also be enjoyable if we have worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and

worthwhile. Optimal experience is thus something that we make happen. So my note here is that we all want to be happy, but what does that mean exactly and how do we achieve it? So for me, the surest route to happiness is twofold. One, making progress towards specific, articulated, and achievable short and long-term goals. And two, short and long-term goals, and two, experiencing a sense of mastery and control along the way, which is produced by concentrating on tasks, overcoming challenges, and executing intentions. Now, what is conspicuously missing from that list, of course, is the actual achievement of goals and desires because, for me at least, this provides a certain measure of fulfillment but also dissatisfaction as a new list of wishes dampens the glow. In this way, I actually find more enjoyment and pleasure in doing the work than having done the work. So this takeaway that I just shared also gives some insight into why I enjoy most work for its own sake. For me, work is an easy way to get into a

flow state where my attention is fully absorbed by something that I feel is meaningful, something that aligns with a vision of the future I want to realize, and something that can provide tangible feedback. As Cheekson-Mahaly says elsewhere in the book, quote, goals justify the effort they demand at the outset, but later it is the effort that justifies the goal. And although it does feel good to relax for a little bit after a long day of work, for example, or to take a day to fully unplug now and then, I find the workflow experience more enjoyable than many other things I could do with my time. Even those that might seem more quote unquote fun at first blush. And that is one of the main reasons why I work a lot. I truly enjoy how I feel while

I'm working. And then, of course, I enjoy the results that my work produces in the real world. Okay, third takeaway. Quote, when a young man asked Carlisle how he should go about reforming the world, Carlisle answered, reform yourself. That way, there will be one less rascal in the world. The advice is still valid. Those who try to make life better for everyone without having learned to control their own lives first usually end up making things worse all around. So my note here is, I just felt like this was timely. It resonated with me in my recent rereading of all of my notes and takeaways, because it kind of summarizes my message to many of the people

here in the West in particular who are currently agitating for radical social, political, and cultural reforms, especially young people. Because if someone doesn't have their shit together, it's because they can't get it together or they choose not to. And if they can't do it or don't want to, how can these people possibly help the rest of us get our collective shit together? I mean, if the sum total of someone's personal decisions and actions is a mostly broken, dysfunctional life, how can this person create anything but a mostly broken, dysfunctional society? Thus, I am extremely skeptical of people who proclaim to know what is best for the rest of us. Before I even consider their ideas and intentions,

I first judge their character and circumstances. Karl Marx is a perfect example of this. He was a fucking loser. He couldn't even hold down a job and ultimately had to be supported by a rich patron. And it's no surprise then that he hated a system. He hated a game that he simply couldn't win at because he was a broken, dysfunctional person. Anyways, moving on. The fourth takeaway quote, the problem is that it has recently become fashionable to regard whatever we feel inside as the true voice of nature speaking. The only authority many people trust today is instinct. If something feels good, if it is natural and spontaneous, then it must be right. But when we follow the suggestions of genetic and social instructions without question, we relinquish control of consciousness and become helpless playthings of impersonal forces.

My note here is, this reminds me of the following from my book, The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation, in which I say, for at least the last couple of decades, many brilliant people have been working tirelessly not to advance our general knowledge, judgment, or capabilities, but to convince us to buy more things we don't need, consume more poisonous foods and vacuous entertainment, and conform our thoughts and beliefs to a cultural hive mind that worships whatever feels right. And so it is really no surprise that we have a dysfunctional normal where most people are comfortably numb. They've resigned themselves to what they believe they can and can't do and change and have accepted the rules and restrictions dinned into them since childhood. According to various surveys and studies, they are on average

23 pounds overweight. They do just three hours of real work and watch five hours of TV per day. They are over $130,000 in debt with less than $1,000 in savings. They sit, they eat, they watch, and they die. Somewhere along the way, though, they'll wonder what happened and whom to blame for their misfortunes. It's not your fault the psychosocial tastemakers will coup. You're not responsible for your condition. You are a victim of your circumstances. You like my NPR voice? Yes, something in them will say, that feels good, that must be right. And then the power dive begins. So in other words, the result of following the part of us that says we should just do whatever makes us happy is a life that mostly feels wasted, a house full of condiments and no real food. Work is frustrating, unengaging,

and alienating. And free time is meaningless, boring, and dispiriting. And while there are occasional moments of pleasure, enjoyment, true enjoyment, remains elusive. The other option, then, is to consciously invest our attention and energy into activities that may not be all that pleasurable while we're doing them, but that introduce novelty and produce forward movement and accomplishment. example, completing a difficult piece of work or playing a close game of tennis or reading an insightful book. These are the types of experiences that allow us to change, grow, and transcend and that we look back on fondly and wish to repeat. Next takeaway, final takeaway, number five, quote, it is true that life has no meaning. If by that we mean a supreme goal built into the fabric of nature and human experience, a goal that is valid for every individual, but it does not follow that life cannot be given meaning. Much of what we call culture and

civilization consists in efforts. Typo, consists in efforts, consists of efforts probably. People have made generally against overwhelming odds to create a sense of purpose for themselves and their descendants. It is one thing to recognize that life is by itself meaningless. It is another thing entirely to accept this with resignation. The first fact does not entail the second any more than the fact that we lack wings prevents us from flying. From the point of view of an individual, it does not matter what the ultimate goal is, provided it is compelling enough to order a lifetime's worth of psychic energy. So my note here is, well, it starts with a quote from Fight Club, something Tyler Durden said. He said, you have a class of young,

strong men and women, and they want to give their lives to something. Advertising has these people chasing cars and clothes they don't need. Generations have been working in jobs they hate just so they can buy what they really don't need. We don't have a great war in our generation or a great depression, but we do. We have a war of the spirit. We have a great revolution against the culture. The Great Depression is our lives. We have a spiritual depression. And that, I believe, is a prescient and, remember that was published back in 96, I think, and also a poignant social commentary with a point. Unless we fully align our energies to goals and purposes that matter to us, we will always feel disconnected from ourselves and others and reality. No amount

of trinkets, indulgences, or substances can change this. In the book, in Flow, Csikszentmihalyi shares another Thomas Carlyle quote, which is, Blessed is he who has found his work. Let him ask no other blessedness. That resonates with me and is relevant to this last takeaway. I think that we all must strive to find and hold onto our work for as long as we can, not to reach the peak, then please leave a quick review of it on iTunes or wherever you're listening from. This not only convinces people that they should check the show out, it also increases its search visibility and thus helps more people find their way to me and learn how to build their best bodies ever too. And of course, if you want to be notified

when the next episode goes live, then just subscribe to the podcast and you won't miss out on any of the new goodies. Lastly, if you didn't like something about the show, then definitely shoot me an email at mike at muscleforlife.com and share your thoughts on how you think it could be better. I read everything myself and I'm always looking for constructive feedback, so please do reach out. All right, that's it. Thanks again for listening to this episode, and I hope to hear from you soon. And lastly, this episode is brought to you by me. Seriously though, I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in, so instead I'm going to just quickly tell you about something of mine. Specifically, my 100% natural post-workout supplement Recharge.

Recharge helps you gain muscle and strength faster and recover better from your workouts. And it's also naturally sweetened and flavored, and it contains no artificial food dyes, fillers, or other unnecessary junk. All that is why it has over 700 reviews on Amazon with a four and a half star average and another 200 on my website, Amazon with a four and a half star average and another 200 on my website also with a four and a half star average. So if you want to be able to push harder in the gym, train more frequently and get more out of your workouts, then you want to head over to www.legionathletics.com and pick up a bottle of Recharge today. And just to show how much I appreciate my podcast peeps, use the coupon code PODCAST at checkout

and you will save 10% on your entire order. And lastly, you should also know that I have a very simple 100% money back guarantee that works like this. You either love my stuff or you get your money back, period. You don't have to return the products. You don't have to return the products. You don't have to fill out forms. You don't have to jump through any other hoops or go through any other shenanigans.

So you really can't lose here. Head over to www.lesionathletics.com now, place your order, and see for yourself why my supplements have thousands of rave reviews all over the internet. And if for whatever reason, they're just not for you, contact us and we will give you a full refund on the spot.