I'm currently reading _Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience_. While a smidgeon mystical, the first few chapters have been pretty interesting. So far, however, it doesn't seem to address my personal questions on the subject. Flow is about the idea that happiness comes from finding things that make you feel in the flow, a state characterized by a number of things such as complete concentration, distortion and contraction of time, well-defined goals and constant feedback, and afterwards, a realization of great enjoyment.
However, while Flow differentiates between pleasure and enjoyment, it has not yet talked much about the distinction that concerns me: between enjoyment and satisfaction. All sorts of things make me feel the flow, and perhaps I'm gifted that way and shouldn't be looking for more. The problem is that most of my flow activities leave me, afterwards, with a feeling of enjoyment devoid of accomplishment. And doing them, day after day, makes me feel empty. Rather than having the flow add meaning to my life, it simply seems to make it pass by pleasantly.
To improve, I must continue to find ways of making my Flows serve my long-term goals, and learn ways of Flowing in more activities, those short-term yawns that can lead to long-term hurrahs.
I brainstormed a little about what puts Patri in the Flow with the most consistency:
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