15I
n his search for what makes for
a rewarding life, psychology
professor and author Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi encountered
a rare breed of happy people. These
happy people, who he calls ‘auto-
telic’, don’t need fame, fortune, or
good luck to be happy. In fact, they
don’t seem to need anything - even
learning to enjoy states that others
would find miserable. Csikszentmi-
halyi writes: “An autotelic person
needs few material possessions and
little entertainment, comfort, power
or fame because so much of what he
or she does is already rewarding...
They are less dependent on the
external rewards that keep others
motivated to go on with a life com-
posed of routines.”
In his study on happiness and
creativity, Csikszentmihalyi spent
time with creative people who re-
ceived few rewards for their work.
He documented a mental state that
autotelic people encountered when
they were engaged in an activity
that they found personally reward-
ing and challenging. With little
more than a sheet of white paper in
front of them, composers sang of an
“ecstatic state to such a point that
you feel as though you almost don’t
exist”. A poet described it as open-
ing a door “that’s floating in the
middle of nowhere and all you have
to do is go and turn the handle and
open it and let yourself sink into it”.
A figure skater related the “rush” of
everything going right and “feelingA RARE BREED OF
HAPPY PEOPLE
Photo by Skagens MuseumNews 15 IDEAS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFEgood”. When studying people who
experienced happiness in business,
Csikszentmihalyi encountered simi-
lar findings. Paramount was the de-
sire to contribute something to the
world and to be happy in the process
of doing it. Money, fame, and praise
were secondary aspirations. “You
have to enjoy what you are doing.
You won’t be very good if you don’t,”
reported a successful CEO.Indeed, for these happy people,
happiness was a by-product of doing
something meaningful, engaging, and
challenging, and doing it with total
absorption. In his book Flow: The Psy-
chology of Optimal Experience, Csiksze-
ntmihalyi writes: “People who learn
to control inner experience will be
able to determine the quality of their
lives, which is as close as any of us can
come to being happy.”I
n hissearchforwhatmakesfor
a rewarding life, psychology
professor and author Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi encountered
a rare breedofhappypeople.These
happy people, who he calls ‘auto-
telic’, don’tneedfame, fortune,or
good lucktobehappy.Infact,they
don’t seemtoneedanything- even
learningto enjoystatesthatothers
would findmiserable. Csikszentmi-
halyi writes: “An autotelic person
needs fewmaterialpossessions and
little entertainment,comfort,power
or famebecausesomuchofwhathe
or she doesis already rewarding...
They are less dependent on the
external rewards that keep others
motivatedtogoonwitha lifecom-
posed ofroutines.”
In his study on happiness and
creativity, Csikszentmihalyi spent
time with creative people whore-
ceived few rewards for their work.
He documenteda mentalstatethat
autotelicpeopleencounteredwhen
they were engaged in an activity
that theyfound personallyreward-
ing and challenging. With little
more than a sheet of white paper in
front of them, composers sang of an
“ecstatic state to such a point that
you feel as though you almost don’t
exist”. A poet described it as open-
ing a door “that’s floating in the
middle of nowhere and all you have
to do is go and turn the handle and
open it and let yourself sink into it”.
A figure skater related the “rush” of
everything going right and “feelingA RARE BREED OF
HAPPY PEOPLE
Photo by Skagens MuseumNews 15 IDEAS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFEgood”. When studying people who
experienced happiness in business,
Csikszentmihalyi encountered simi-
lar findings. Paramount was the de-
sire to contribute something to the
world and to be happy in the process
of doing it. Money, fame, and praise
were secondary aspirations. “You
have to enjoy what you are doing.
You won’t be very good if you don’t,”
reported a successful CEO.Indeed, for these happy people,
happiness was a by-product of doing
something meaningful, engaging, and
challenging, and doing it with total
absorption. In his book Flow: The Psy-
chology of Optimal Experience, Csiksze-
ntmihalyi writes: “People who learn
to control inner experience will be
able to determine the quality of their
lives, which is as close as any of us can
come to being happy.”