Finding Happiness in the “Flow” of Daily Life

What You Need to Know

Along with meaningful friendships and social connections, “flow” – the blissful state that comes from exercising your unique strengths – has been shown to create more lasting happiness. It results in: 

• complete focus
• disappearance of self-consciousness
• feeling stronger than usual
• enjoying the doing of something for its own sake
• embracing living as its own justification
• a level of enjoyment that involves being so delightfully engulfed that one may forget to eat or fail to notice the sun going down or miss your favorite television show 

• too difficult, which leads to frustration and anxiety
• too easy, which could lead to boredom and loss of engagement 

• Help your children find her “flow” by highlighting and encouraging developing of unique strengths, passions, and talents. 
• Most young children, no matter what their personal interests, are capable of losing themselves in pretend play. This play, which inevitably applies unique skills and talents through the use of individual imaginations, results in far more happiness than TV watching, for instance, which requires no skills. Engage in pretend play with your child, and let her lead. Don't break the magic back offering your ideas, opinions, or corrections – even when your child seeks it. 
• Help your child develop meaningful friendships by arranging varied playdates to practice successful social skills, help your child get to know other children better, and begin establishing stronger bonds with children she finds herself most drawn to.

For more on this topic, see the complete article:

http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Outside_Room_15/