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你今天Flow了嗎?
最近年假剛結束，兩天都在facebook上面問「上班快樂、還是放假快樂」，結果我發現，遠比我們想像中還多回答：「上班快樂！」所以再把最近這則文章再拿出來分享一下，它是從心理學的角度來分析，為何大家都會覺得工作的時候竟然比放鬆休息的時候還快樂？ 這篇文章引用了一則實驗，一位名字超長的心理學家「Csíkszentmihályi」，曾在BB叩的時代做過以下這個實驗：請實驗者隨身配帶BB call機，上班也帶，下班也帶，然後不定時call他，叫他回覆現在是快樂還是不快樂。結果他的實驗團隊發現，這樣平均下來，大家竟然是在工作的時候比較快樂，而休閒的時候比較不快樂！
雖然我們開玩笑的說，放假的時候突然被嗶嗶叫的BB Call吵住，必須回信，當然都會填「不快樂」啊！不過想必該實驗的設計不會這麼笨，實驗者會將心情與當下心情分開處理來回答，但最有趣的來了，這位叫不出名字的科學家，最後使用了一個概念來解釋，上班為何比較快樂？這個概念，就叫做「Flow」。因為簡化，所以清楚，我覺得「Flow」教我們太多的事情。什麼叫做「Flow」？這個字有個中文學名叫「心流」，但不太喜歡此學名，缺乏原本的感覺，所以還是用原本的「Flow」字。「Flow」形容人類一種心境。它不是在我們談戀愛的時候出現，也不是在我們吃大餐的時候出現；更不是在我們收到禮物出現，也不在我們中樂透的時候出現。「Flow」這個心境，是出現在「努力往一個目標邁進而感覺到自己可以做到它」，就如同它的名字「Flow」，發生在當你處理一個挑戰，卻技壓群雄，這時候你的心情就如流水，這麼順暢的「正在達成中」。不過，注意，雖然正在達成中，但是「還沒達到」。就在這麼一個「達成中卻還沒達到」的時間點，人類就進入了一種、非常極致的享受狀態！這狀態將我們心中所有竅門全部輕輕的打開，不致於太過於刺激或暴力，卻讓我們好幾百顆小星星在腦門裡無限舒暢！
不過，文章說，「Flow」的這件事，必須要有２個元件－－
首先必須要有一個「挑戰」，然後讓你去用「實力」來克服它，這兩者，缺一不可。一個人要達到「Flow」這種快樂境地，必須有足夠的技術，去克服一個挑戰。心理學家發現，當一個人努力最大而挑戰也最大的時候，「Flow」的快樂程度也愈高！我昨天看到技師在修電腦電話線，看到他很專注又很努力的模樣，他大概就是做到了「Flow」；連電視上的海綿寶寶每天快樂的到蟹堡王去工作，他大概也是做到了「Flow」；曾經看過哪份文獻寫到上班快樂的最大之道就是申請一個符合自己位階之下的工作而不是之上，現在回想起來應該也是因為要做到「Flow」。瞭解了「Flow」，甚至去體會了它，然後想辦法每天都在「flow」的狀態中，我們就會知道為什麼工作有可能會比放假還快樂？這是因為，大部份的人的「放假」定義，之所以叫放假，就是丟掉目標或挑戰，每天睡到自然醒，前幾天真的很爽，但後幾天就不好玩了！所以，大部份的人都只有在上班的時候才有機會達到「Flow」的境界，而他們卻渾然不覺。 不過，有些人真的認為放假比上班還有趣，很有可能也是因為，他們的假期不是從早睡到晚，而是他們有固定參加社區棒球隊、單車隊等等，他們在放假的時候依然有目標和挑戰，然後有一個「努力」的過程去達成它，使力之後就可以完成這個目標和挑戰，所以放假的時候很快樂，比上班還要快樂。更有趣的是，透過「Flow」的概念，我們更知道了，為什麼上班會不快樂？很有可能是因為，「Flow」的兩個要素，我們偏偏就是「少了一樣」！怎麼說呢？
大部份的人覺得上班很不快樂，都不是因為「太輕鬆」，而是因為太操、太煩、太不合興趣…這些理由其實都是在暗示你，這份工作，你並不是「使力」就可以「完成」，大部份的人缺少的是這點，所以雖然有目標或挑戰（老闆今天丟個東西出來，做做做！這是目標！），但是由於這件事，並不是使力、努力、奮力就可以達到並如自己計算中的完成期望，因此「Flow」就做不出來了。你會說，瞭解這個事實，並無法幫助我們進入「Flow」狀態，畢竟這不是我們可以控制的！老闆要什麼不是我可以控制的！但有趣的是，我們其實可以控制「Flow」的另一個要素，也就是用自己的方式直接修理那個「目標與挑戰」。雖然老闆指派的是這件事，但你將它修改成其他比較符合自己想要的事，用這樣的方法來達成「Flow」！
另外，很多人覺得上班不快樂可能也是因為，「這不是我想要的東西」，而之所以還在這邊，有可能外面的東西也不確定是真正想要的，那這要怎麼辦？其實，這個問題存在於大部份的公司，因為大部份的公司所給的「目標」，都是公司要多少業績……再怎麼縮小到部門，依然不夠「個人化」，以致於個人在努力的時候，雖然努力八小時，但自己並沒有辦法親眼看到「目標的達成」，照樣是沒辦法建立「Flow」，因此，「Flow管理學」的第一課，就是幫助每一個個人「設立個人目標」！很妙吧？而且，最後「Flow」還教我們一件事──
倘若我們將完成一件事的過程分為「頭、中、末、完成、完成後」五段，那我們可以猜想，「Flow」最強的時間點，應該是在「中」和「末」，那種愉悅感會愈來愈加強、愈來愈加強，直到完成後，這教了我們什麼呢？每次我們開始做一件事，百般不願，一定要快點讓它進入「中」、「末」，好讓「Flow」趕快產生！這樣一來，就可以愈做愈high，在這個最不可思議的時間點（應該是最忙的時間點）竟然達到了不可思議的high程度，這也是很多人做事高效率的秘密。所以，你今天「Flow」了嗎？
(摘自Mr.6)
Why Most People are Happier Working than in Their Free Time
Are you happier when you’re working, or when you have time off?
Easy answer right? We work in order to have free time. Everything from basic economics to our deepest intuitions tells us that we must be happiest during our free time.
Turns out we were wrong. Flow, Flipped Intuitions and A Scientist’s Name You Can’t Pronounce Mihály Csíkszentmihályi did careful research that discovered that some of our deepest intuitions about work, play and what makes us happy were completely backwards.
He discovered that most people were, in fact, happier at work than at rest. More, he found that people tended to think they were happier in their free time, and would choose to have more free time than work, even though it made them unhappier. How did Csíkszentmihályi find this? He did it by having study participants keep pagers (then a new technology) that would go off at random intervals of the day. During those intervals, study participants would not only record what they were doing, but also their emotional state in the current moment.
By adding up this data, he reached the surprising conclusion: people were happier at work, even though they didn’t realize it. Why You’re Happier at Work ?Csíkszentmihályi’s answer to this question was based on the concept of flow. In his research, this is the optimal state of human experience. It is attained when working towards a challenge that perfectly meets our skill level, engaging every mental faculty without overwhelming us. This state of flow, because it requires both challenge and the application of skill, is more commonly attained at work than during relaxation. As a result, people report higher levels of well-being at work. Why Free Time Makes Most People Unhappy. Our drives don’t match up perfectly with our reality. We are motivated to relax, but relaxing itself doesn’t create the experience of flow. As a result, we strive to find more free time, even though we tend to use it on passive activities that never allow us to enter flow.
The Solution Isn’t to Become a Workaholic. I don’t believe the solution is simply to work more. Although that may fit within Csíkszentmihályi’s research, I do believe there is a good reason why people avoid work even though they are happier when working. I believe that reason is commitments. Commitments are often necessary to be accomplished and productive. Without some pressure, either external or internal, it’s likely I never would have built this business, stayed in shape or attended classes. However, commitments have a psychic toll on us. If you followed the findings I presented above, and turned yourself into a workaholic, you may feel flow more often. Or you may end up a burned-out wreck, one step closer to an asylum.
I’ve experienced this road personally. As I wrote in this article, I made the mistake of confusing the flow-induced happiness of work with adding extra commitments. I survived, but I ended up becoming less accomplished, more stressed and considerably less happy. Commit to Less, Engage in Mastery More, But Csíkszentmihályi’s research never suggested adding more commitments. His findings simply indicated that people tend to be happier at work because that environment was more conducive to flow. The solution, I will argue, has nothing to do with working more. Instead, it has to do with designing your free time so that you have more opportunities for flow. Noncommittal Mastery. Noncommittal mastery is the process of engaging in intense learning and skill-building environments. Ones where the challenge of the activity and your skill are always in equilibrium. However, you engage in those elements without any outside pressure and little internal pressure. I’ve been using this approach for some time now, and recently I’ve been trying to apply it more deliberately. I recently wrote here about how the noncommittal path to mastery is how I’m pursuing bodyweight fitness. I’ve also been using it to improve my cooking, bicycling, graphic design, computer programming and reading.
In my experience, I’ve found noncommittal mastery tends to achieve less and more slowly than intense commitments. That is, my business projects tend to progress faster and more consistently than my bodyweight fitness training, because I have added pressure. But, when you’re designing your free time, accomplishment isn’t the point–flow is. And if, by pursuing noncommittal mastery, I get to have more interesting flow experiences without adding new stress, I’ve succeeded.How to Create Mastery as a Side Dish. Another way to explain noncommittal mastery is mastery as a side dish. Instead of the main course (your biggest focus in life) it is an addition that can be equally enjoyable without becoming an obligation.
I’ve experimented with two ways to incorporate side-mastery into my life. One, which I’ve found usually fails. And a second which works much better.The mistaken way to add mastery into your life is to create more pressure to do it. When you tell yourself you “should” start cooking more elaborate meals, learn to write fiction or read difficult books. Unfortunately the “should” method tends to turn the otherwise fun activity into a mild commitment. Instead of being free time it starts to feel a bit like work. The psychic toll of pursuing the activity goes up and your desire to pursue it freely goes down. This is not the way. A better, but less obvious, way to integrate more side dishes of mastery into your life is to reduce the barriers to play. Instead of creating pressure, you reduce all the obstacles that make you less likely to pursue noncommittal mastery and more likely to waste time in passive activities that leave you less happy.
Removing the Obstacles to Enjoyment One way you can remove obstacles is to integrate the mastery-seeking activity into your current routine.Bodyweight training was an easy integration for me because I’d already established the habit of going to the gym several times per week. Cooking became easier to pursue once I got the right tools and ingredients. I’ve written before that biking is facilitated by my current city.
Another way you can remove obstacles is to get past the frustration barrier. By taking an introductory course in yoga, dance or French cuisine, you can get to the part where applying the skill is actually fun.Or simply make the mastery-seeking activity more available. One way I’ve been able to read more books per year? Always have books to read on my desk. Always having one or two good books in the to-read pile ensures I always have the chance to practice.Why Following this Advice Means Rejecting Your Intuitions. My proposed solutions of noncommittal mastery and removing obstacles are just my experiences. You can discount them as anecdote if you disagree with me, just as you can discount most of my rants and opinions in this blog.
However, Csíkszentmihályi’s research isn’t opinion. It isn’t anecdote. It’s scientific research that has a more surprising conclusion than I would ever attempt to thrust upon you: that most people are less happy in their free time.To all the people that reject the concept of active leisure, and believe the happiest life is the passive, relaxed one, I ask you to question your intuitions. Because the research says otherwise. Perhaps, like I did, you’ll discover it isn’t the activity you want to avoid but the commitment. And you may find that the most enjoyable moments of life aren’t the easiest or least exerting, but those completely engaged in play
最近年假剛結束，兩天都在facebook上面問「上班快樂、還是放假快樂」，結果我發現，遠比我們想像中還多回答：「上班快樂！」所以再把最近這則文章再拿出來分享一下，它是從心理學的角度來分析，為何大家都會覺得工作的時候竟然比放鬆休息的時候還快樂？ 這篇文章引用了一則實驗，一位名字超長的心理學家「Csíkszentmihályi」，曾在BB叩的時代做過以下這個實驗：請實驗者隨身配帶BB call機，上班也帶，下班也帶，然後不定時call他，叫他回覆現在是快樂還是不快樂。結果他的實驗團隊發現，這樣平均下來，大家竟然是在工作的時候比較快樂，而休閒的時候比較不快樂！
雖然我們開玩笑的說，放假的時候突然被嗶嗶叫的BB Call吵住，必須回信，當然都會填「不快樂」啊！不過想必該實驗的設計不會這麼笨，實驗者會將心情與當下心情分開處理來回答，但最有趣的來了，這位叫不出名字的科學家，最後使用了一個概念來解釋，上班為何比較快樂？這個概念，就叫做「Flow」。因為簡化，所以清楚，我覺得「Flow」教我們太多的事情。什麼叫做「Flow」？這個字有個中文學名叫「心流」，但不太喜歡此學名，缺乏原本的感覺，所以還是用原本的「Flow」字。「Flow」形容人類一種心境。它不是在我們談戀愛的時候出現，也不是在我們吃大餐的時候出現；更不是在我們收到禮物出現，也不在我們中樂透的時候出現。「Flow」這個心境，是出現在「努力往一個目標邁進而感覺到自己可以做到它」，就如同它的名字「Flow」，發生在當你處理一個挑戰，卻技壓群雄，這時候你的心情就如流水，這麼順暢的「正在達成中」。不過，注意，雖然正在達成中，但是「還沒達到」。就在這麼一個「達成中卻還沒達到」的時間點，人類就進入了一種、非常極致的享受狀態！這狀態將我們心中所有竅門全部輕輕的打開，不致於太過於刺激或暴力，卻讓我們好幾百顆小星星在腦門裡無限舒暢！
不過，文章說，「Flow」的這件事，必須要有２個元件－－
首先必須要有一個「挑戰」，然後讓你去用「實力」來克服它，這兩者，缺一不可。一個人要達到「Flow」這種快樂境地，必須有足夠的技術，去克服一個挑戰。心理學家發現，當一個人努力最大而挑戰也最大的時候，「Flow」的快樂程度也愈高！我昨天看到技師在修電腦電話線，看到他很專注又很努力的模樣，他大概就是做到了「Flow」；連電視上的海綿寶寶每天快樂的到蟹堡王去工作，他大概也是做到了「Flow」；曾經看過哪份文獻寫到上班快樂的最大之道就是申請一個符合自己位階之下的工作而不是之上，現在回想起來應該也是因為要做到「Flow」。瞭解了「Flow」，甚至去體會了它，然後想辦法每天都在「flow」的狀態中，我們就會知道為什麼工作有可能會比放假還快樂？這是因為，大部份的人的「放假」定義，之所以叫放假，就是丟掉目標或挑戰，每天睡到自然醒，前幾天真的很爽，但後幾天就不好玩了！所以，大部份的人都只有在上班的時候才有機會達到「Flow」的境界，而他們卻渾然不覺。 不過，有些人真的認為放假比上班還有趣，很有可能也是因為，他們的假期不是從早睡到晚，而是他們有固定參加社區棒球隊、單車隊等等，他們在放假的時候依然有目標和挑戰，然後有一個「努力」的過程去達成它，使力之後就可以完成這個目標和挑戰，所以放假的時候很快樂，比上班還要快樂。更有趣的是，透過「Flow」的概念，我們更知道了，為什麼上班會不快樂？很有可能是因為，「Flow」的兩個要素，我們偏偏就是「少了一樣」！怎麼說呢？
大部份的人覺得上班很不快樂，都不是因為「太輕鬆」，而是因為太操、太煩、太不合興趣…這些理由其實都是在暗示你，這份工作，你並不是「使力」就可以「完成」，大部份的人缺少的是這點，所以雖然有目標或挑戰（老闆今天丟個東西出來，做做做！這是目標！），但是由於這件事，並不是使力、努力、奮力就可以達到並如自己計算中的完成期望，因此「Flow」就做不出來了。你會說，瞭解這個事實，並無法幫助我們進入「Flow」狀態，畢竟這不是我們可以控制的！老闆要什麼不是我可以控制的！但有趣的是，我們其實可以控制「Flow」的另一個要素，也就是用自己的方式直接修理那個「目標與挑戰」。雖然老闆指派的是這件事，但你將它修改成其他比較符合自己想要的事，用這樣的方法來達成「Flow」！
另外，很多人覺得上班不快樂可能也是因為，「這不是我想要的東西」，而之所以還在這邊，有可能外面的東西也不確定是真正想要的，那這要怎麼辦？其實，這個問題存在於大部份的公司，因為大部份的公司所給的「目標」，都是公司要多少業績……再怎麼縮小到部門，依然不夠「個人化」，以致於個人在努力的時候，雖然努力八小時，但自己並沒有辦法親眼看到「目標的達成」，照樣是沒辦法建立「Flow」，因此，「Flow管理學」的第一課，就是幫助每一個個人「設立個人目標」！很妙吧？而且，最後「Flow」還教我們一件事──
倘若我們將完成一件事的過程分為「頭、中、末、完成、完成後」五段，那我們可以猜想，「Flow」最強的時間點，應該是在「中」和「末」，那種愉悅感會愈來愈加強、愈來愈加強，直到完成後，這教了我們什麼呢？每次我們開始做一件事，百般不願，一定要快點讓它進入「中」、「末」，好讓「Flow」趕快產生！這樣一來，就可以愈做愈high，在這個最不可思議的時間點（應該是最忙的時間點）竟然達到了不可思議的high程度，這也是很多人做事高效率的秘密。所以，你今天「Flow」了嗎？
(摘自Mr.6)
Why Most People are Happier Working than in Their Free Time
Are you happier when you’re working, or when you have time off?
Easy answer right? We work in order to have free time. Everything from basic economics to our deepest intuitions tells us that we must be happiest during our free time.
Turns out we were wrong. Flow, Flipped Intuitions and A Scientist’s Name You Can’t Pronounce Mihály Csíkszentmihályi did careful research that discovered that some of our deepest intuitions about work, play and what makes us happy were completely backwards.
He discovered that most people were, in fact, happier at work than at rest. More, he found that people tended to think they were happier in their free time, and would choose to have more free time than work, even though it made them unhappier. How did Csíkszentmihályi find this? He did it by having study participants keep pagers (then a new technology) that would go off at random intervals of the day. During those intervals, study participants would not only record what they were doing, but also their emotional state in the current moment.
By adding up this data, he reached the surprising conclusion: people were happier at work, even though they didn’t realize it. Why You’re Happier at Work ?Csíkszentmihályi’s answer to this question was based on the concept of flow. In his research, this is the optimal state of human experience. It is attained when working towards a challenge that perfectly meets our skill level, engaging every mental faculty without overwhelming us. This state of flow, because it requires both challenge and the application of skill, is more commonly attained at work than during relaxation. As a result, people report higher levels of well-being at work. Why Free Time Makes Most People Unhappy. Our drives don’t match up perfectly with our reality. We are motivated to relax, but relaxing itself doesn’t create the experience of flow. As a result, we strive to find more free time, even though we tend to use it on passive activities that never allow us to enter flow.
The Solution Isn’t to Become a Workaholic. I don’t believe the solution is simply to work more. Although that may fit within Csíkszentmihályi’s research, I do believe there is a good reason why people avoid work even though they are happier when working. I believe that reason is commitments. Commitments are often necessary to be accomplished and productive. Without some pressure, either external or internal, it’s likely I never would have built this business, stayed in shape or attended classes. However, commitments have a psychic toll on us. If you followed the findings I presented above, and turned yourself into a workaholic, you may feel flow more often. Or you may end up a burned-out wreck, one step closer to an asylum.
I’ve experienced this road personally. As I wrote in this article, I made the mistake of confusing the flow-induced happiness of work with adding extra commitments. I survived, but I ended up becoming less accomplished, more stressed and considerably less happy. Commit to Less, Engage in Mastery More, But Csíkszentmihályi’s research never suggested adding more commitments. His findings simply indicated that people tend to be happier at work because that environment was more conducive to flow. The solution, I will argue, has nothing to do with working more. Instead, it has to do with designing your free time so that you have more opportunities for flow. Noncommittal Mastery. Noncommittal mastery is the process of engaging in intense learning and skill-building environments. Ones where the challenge of the activity and your skill are always in equilibrium. However, you engage in those elements without any outside pressure and little internal pressure. I’ve been using this approach for some time now, and recently I’ve been trying to apply it more deliberately. I recently wrote here about how the noncommittal path to mastery is how I’m pursuing bodyweight fitness. I’ve also been using it to improve my cooking, bicycling, graphic design, computer programming and reading.
In my experience, I’ve found noncommittal mastery tends to achieve less and more slowly than intense commitments. That is, my business projects tend to progress faster and more consistently than my bodyweight fitness training, because I have added pressure. But, when you’re designing your free time, accomplishment isn’t the point–flow is. And if, by pursuing noncommittal mastery, I get to have more interesting flow experiences without adding new stress, I’ve succeeded.How to Create Mastery as a Side Dish. Another way to explain noncommittal mastery is mastery as a side dish. Instead of the main course (your biggest focus in life) it is an addition that can be equally enjoyable without becoming an obligation.
I’ve experimented with two ways to incorporate side-mastery into my life. One, which I’ve found usually fails. And a second which works much better.The mistaken way to add mastery into your life is to create more pressure to do it. When you tell yourself you “should” start cooking more elaborate meals, learn to write fiction or read difficult books. Unfortunately the “should” method tends to turn the otherwise fun activity into a mild commitment. Instead of being free time it starts to feel a bit like work. The psychic toll of pursuing the activity goes up and your desire to pursue it freely goes down. This is not the way. A better, but less obvious, way to integrate more side dishes of mastery into your life is to reduce the barriers to play. Instead of creating pressure, you reduce all the obstacles that make you less likely to pursue noncommittal mastery and more likely to waste time in passive activities that leave you less happy.
Removing the Obstacles to Enjoyment One way you can remove obstacles is to integrate the mastery-seeking activity into your current routine.Bodyweight training was an easy integration for me because I’d already established the habit of going to the gym several times per week. Cooking became easier to pursue once I got the right tools and ingredients. I’ve written before that biking is facilitated by my current city.
Another way you can remove obstacles is to get past the frustration barrier. By taking an introductory course in yoga, dance or French cuisine, you can get to the part where applying the skill is actually fun.Or simply make the mastery-seeking activity more available. One way I’ve been able to read more books per year? Always have books to read on my desk. Always having one or two good books in the to-read pile ensures I always have the chance to practice.Why Following this Advice Means Rejecting Your Intuitions. My proposed solutions of noncommittal mastery and removing obstacles are just my experiences. You can discount them as anecdote if you disagree with me, just as you can discount most of my rants and opinions in this blog.
However, Csíkszentmihályi’s research isn’t opinion. It isn’t anecdote. It’s scientific research that has a more surprising conclusion than I would ever attempt to thrust upon you: that most people are less happy in their free time.To all the people that reject the concept of active leisure, and believe the happiest life is the passive, relaxed one, I ask you to question your intuitions. Because the research says otherwise. Perhaps, like I did, you’ll discover it isn’t the activity you want to avoid but the commitment. And you may find that the most enjoyable moments of life aren’t the easiest or least exerting, but those completely engaged in play
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