Three Ted Talks - Week 8

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi -- flow, the secret of happiness, 2004

he got into the field of study while interested in how people are finding happiness and order following ww2
what contributes to a life worth living?

when ppl are poor, they are less happy. however after 74,000 yearly income the levels of happiness do not differ that much (money cannot really fully make one happy. it should not be the single factor into happiness or what one solely searches for)
creative ppl (artists, scientists) - what made them feel this creative flow and meaningfulness?

existence is temporarily suspended with these artists. their body parts move on their own
this spontaneous process that happens can only happen to skilled experienced ppl (need 10 years of technical nurture and knowledge in a field to create to ur fullest potential)
flow in poetry, like composing, is explained as opening a door that floats into the sky. albert einstein also explained his research hours like this
all of these people have one thing in common, they find themselves in this state of being where the are completely dedicated to the task at hand and they feel happy

being passionate and also making money happens when people can find their flow
ppl can process about 60 bits per seconds to understand someone -- its not true that you heavily multitask and be on phone and listen to someone. you can't get in the flow
how does it feel to be in flow?

completely involved in what we are doing - focused, concentrated
a sense of ecstasy -- of being outside everyday reality
great inner clarity--knowing what needs to be done, and how well we are doing
knowing the activity is doable--that our skills are adequate to the task
a sense of serenity--no worries about oneself, and a feeling of growing beyond the boundaries of the ego
timelessness--thoroughly focused on the present, hours seem to pass by in minutes
intrinsic motivation--whatever produces flow becomes its own reward

Flow graphic - shows that one needs a fairly high level of skills and challenge to have flow

Adam Alter - Why our screens make us less happy, 2017

2010 steve jobs described iPad as an incredible experience; however months later, he didnt let his kids use it
avg 24 hour workday:

Bureau of Labor statistics - https://www.bls.gov/tus/charts/ and Moment App
*****2007, 2015, 2017: sleep 7-8 hrs a day, work 8-9 hours a day, survival activity for 3 hrs a day, personal time for 4 hours a day. in 2007, 50% personal time is on screen. in 2015, 66% of personal time is on screen. in 2017, 80% is on screen. all of our humanity now in 2017 lives in a 30 minute block.*****

good: facetime, enriching activities (relaxation, exercise, weather, reading education, health) ONLY 9 minutes a day on these enriching activities
bad: dating, social networking, gaming, entertainment, news, web browsing. 27 minutes a day on this. So we spend 3 times the amount of time on screen activities that make up feel bad (http://thurgooddesigns.com/i-addict)
This robs us of stopping cues - a signal that its time to move on and do something different (finishing a newspaper, finishing magazine, having a weekly TV show).
Now: there are no stopping cues. Everything is bottomless. You can keep on going on and on.
Examples of cool new stopping cues: German car company - when ppl are on vacation they delete ppls emails that are sent to them and say try again in a few weeks instead of having them wait for a response. Dutch office - desks rise up to ceiling at 6 pm to make room for dance/yoga class in that space
What we should do at home in our own lives: Make promises to "never use your phone at/when ___" for example, at the dinner table. This will limit phone usage and give you a stopping cue. At first it hurts, you have massive FOMO. Phone usage acts like a drug.
When people do this, it expands. They are happier, they have better conversations, and have a better, more meaningful life

Andy Puddicombe, All it Takes is Ten Mindful Minutes 2012

People never take any time to do absolutely nothing - absolutely nothing (no reminiscing about past and no thinking about future)
Our mind does SO MUCH for us, including keeping us happy and helping us perform at life's tasks the best we can. However, no one takes any time to take care of their mind.
Result of not taking care of your mind? Stress. People assume that this is the way life is and we have to deal with it. They are wrong!
misconception about meditation is that its like an aspirin for the mind, u get stressed and then meditate and repeat

it's actually a preventative method for no stress
harvard study - our minds are lost in thought 47% of the time. this is a direct cause of unhappiness
so how do we break this bad habit and become happier?

A focused relaxation
Not something where you think about things that make u anxious
we have storylines in our brain, and patterns of thought where we remind ourselves of the unpleasant
what u need to do: step back , familiarize yourself w the present and sit and do nothing for ten minutes

Extra Info

Girls who start using social media by age 10 have reduced well being - https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180319215657.htm
fresh air NPR , irresistable somethign....look on adams website
PBS why your smartphone is irresistible (and why its worth trying to resist)

How to be Happy