Final Essay Post#5

The book discusses "what meaning means", and suggests that there are three uses of the word "mean". The book suggests that meaning implies that events are all connected, that peoples' intentions are revealed through actions, and finally that meaning can connect ideas and relationships that are otherwise unconnected. I found that it is vital to find meaning in the activities and thoughts that I participate in on a daily basis. Meaning helps us to apply definition to our intentions or actions, thus providing more structure in our pursuits. The book suggests that, "Napoleon and Mother Teresa may both have achieved equal levels of inner purpose, therefore optimal experience"(374). This example shows the broad spectrum in which Flow can exist. In some point of views, Napoleon can be considered a tyrant bent on destruction and expansion, and if in fact this was his purpose he succeeded. He was successful in his military campaigns and perhaps experienced flow while doing so, because he was so focused on his purpose of expansion. In contrast, Mother Teresa was instrumental in creating hope and social welfare via the Catholic Church. Her purpose was clearly to help humanity and create a stronger world community, nearly the exact opposite of Napoleon. However, both Napoleon and Mother Teresa experienced the same feelings of fulfillment during their quests.

Whether or not we are working in an office building or selling hot dogs on the street, meaning is what motivates us to do the best we can with the task at hand. Flow does not just arrive as the result of hard work, it is the culmination of focus, meaning, effort, and joy. Perhaps we can define our meaning as the pursuit of Flow, at which point we must define each component of obtaining Flow. First we must find what interests us, and surround ourselves with instances of this interest. Then it is essential to define to meaning of these interests, are they personal pursuits, societal pursuits, or a combination of both. Once we decide the meaning of our efforts, it becomes easier to identify a path towards accomplishing our goals. Many people seem to approach their daily lives with an unenthusiastic demeanor, and this may be due to their lack of meaning or direction. We all have goals, but until we define a way to obtain them, they may always be slightly out of reach. Finally, Flow is the result of defining our efforts and placing all of our cognitive efforts in a line pointed at success.
  

Essay post #3 & #4

Flow continues to advocate exploring self-development. It is very clear that the key to flow is in finding our identity.  As in management situations, a clear definition of goals and/or purpose is key to the development of a successful operation. Once we’ve become more aware of our personal strengths, we will be in a better position to control the outcomes of our dealings. For instance, Csikszentmihalyi suggests that socializing is an activity that often produces optimal and desired outcomes. We must use a certain skill set to interact with our acquaintances, whether it be humor, wit, or cunning, to name a few, we must employ various skills to maneuver through conversations.  As we engage in these interactions and use our various skills, we often feel a sense of gratification. Through these interactions we identify opportunities and various avenues that can offer potential other positive outcomes. Looking for flow in socialization is pertinent to organizational behavior, especially when navigating relationships.   For instance in the discussion of conflict resolution, we learned that communication is often a key component to both the cause and resolution for any conflict. In the article “Three Approaches to Resolving Disputes”, the author makes a clear distinction that “reconciling interests” is vital to creating organization and avoiding conflicts. This is also vital in creating flow through communication. Whether we are dealing with friends or colleagues, in the quest for flow, we must be strategic in aligning our interests in such a way that everyone reaches an ideal level of satisfaction. In a professional atmosphere, a manager must pay close attention to the interests and goals of his counterparts; once the manager is able to identify the interests, he will be in a better position to direct the abilities of each member of the organization, thus creating a higher likelihood of flow experience. As the members of the organization begin to experience success (hopefully because of their positioning) they will likely become motivated by their positive feelings, thus creating trust and the sense of community in the organization.

Similar to aligning the interests of an organization, an individual must be sure to identify his personal interests in an effort to create a clear path to personal gratification and fulfillment. Most of us enjoy a challenge. We all find challenges in different situations, for some it is physical activity and others may enjoy mental challenges. In either situation it is important to find challenges that help us perfect our skills.

The author suggests,” But when beating the opponent takes precedence in the mind over performing as well as possible, enjoyment tends to disappear. Competition is enjoyable only when it is a means to perfect one’s skills; when it becomes and end in itself, it ceases to be fun.”(181)

Of course, this mindset pertains to personal pursuits of enjoyment but it can be applied to group efforts as well. When my buddies and I play playstation, we tend to play FIFA. This game allows for head to head gaming or you can team up with your friends and play each other. For the longest time we were all competitive when playing, and for the first few months I noticed that we were each getting better and helping each other to learn new tricks. Around the time of our midterms, the game seemed to lose its appeal. Personally I fell into a losing streak, but felt that I hadn’t lost anything from my skill set, and nobody really got too much better. I came to the conclusion that the added stress from midterms had turned the gaming into a routine rather than a pleasure. I was no longer playing to get better, I was simply playing to defeat my friends and to procrastinate. I had been experiencing flow initially, but I lost it. I was consciously distracted by the pending exams and my usual enjoyment of FIFA was not present. As I began to make mistakes in the games, my teammates began to lose as well, and suddenly the experience of playing FIFA was no longer enjoyable for anyone. The group lost its Flow as well because of one component of the team.