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How Flow and Csikszentmihalyi Came to Be

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Running head: HOW FLOW AND CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

How Flow and Csikszentmihalyi Came To Be
S Langford
Regis University
Kristy Frush
April 12, 2009

How “Flow” and Csikszentmihalyi Came to Be One may wonder who Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is. In this discussion a review his life as a child and into his adult life and how he came into discovery of the “flow” development. Discussions of his accomplishments as well as those who are inspired by him are given. Sometimes a person needs to know about a person’s background in order to appreciate the obstacles experienced for the realization that is possible for others to overcome ones past and realize the possibility of a more positive future. A view of how the “flow” has benefitted some. Csikszentmihalyi is known for his obsession for serenity, the man behind the “flow” and his life experiences getting there. On September 29, 1934 he was born in Fiume, Italy to his father a Hungarian diplomatic (Answers, 2006). He lived in various places growing up such as Rome and Florence. During his time as a child he spoke various languages from German, Hungarian, and Italian which proved to be an asset while living in an Italian prison camp during World War II. He lived through bombing throughout Rome as well as POW and refugee camps. It was during this time he learned how to play chess which became his way of escaping the world and the routines of the daily life activities of and from the war (Starr, 2008). The rules and guidelines of the game kept him focused rather than stressing over the war and the things he had experienced and seen. While he was still considered a refugee, he continued to study while working at various jobs such as photographer, travel agent, auditor, and a painter. While in Switzerland he attended a lecture given by Carl Jung which introduced the idea of a system of organizing ones thinking patterns

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