TED Video ... Talk by Csikszentmihalyi on Flow

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, "a man obsessed with/by happiness" identifies the following ten factors as accompanying an experience of flow
1.)Clear, attainable, yet highly challenging goals.
2.)Concentrating, a high degree of concentration on a limited field, focus
3.)"un-self-consciousness" , the merging of action and awareness ... immersion
4.)distorted sense of time ... everything slows down
5.)direct and immediate feedback and therefore responsive adjustments.
6.)balance between ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult).
7.)sense of personal control over the activity ... your interaction is collaborative
8.)activity is intrinsically rewarding ... a labor of love, or mostly so : )
9.)lack of awareness of bodily needs ...
and 10.) seem closely linked to 3.) absorption into the activity ... Where did the time go!?

The TED talk is a good quick look at the concept. Dr. Haidt's book certainly provides a frame for this idea ... It seems to be one of those ideas which are simply intuitively true once happened upon. We have the book ...FLOW ... May need to get it in my stack.

Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi asks, "What makes a life worth living?" Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow." ~ TED