.
“Jobs are actually easier to enjoy than free time, because … they have built-in goals, feedback, rules, and challenges,” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (September 29, 1934–October 20, 2021) writes in his book “Flow.”
“Free time, on the other hand, is unstructured, and requires much greater effort to be shaped into something that can be enjoyed,” he adds.
That’s why many people struggle to turn leisure into a meaningful activity that can improve their life. Why does this happen? The author writes:
Love reading and writing? Submit a post to our blog.
The tremendous leisure industry that has arisen in the last few generations has been designed to help fill free time with enjoyable experiences.
Nevertheless, instead of using our physical and mental resources to experience flow, most of us spend many hours each week watching celebrated athletes playing in enormous stadiums.
Instead of making music, we listen to platinum records cut by millionaire musicians.
Instead of making art, we go to admire paintings that brought in the highest bids at the latest auction.
We do not run risks acting on our beliefs, but occupy hours each day watching actors who pretend to have adventures, engaged in mock-meaningful action.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi concludes with this thought:
This vicarious participation is able to mask, at least temporarily, the underlying emptiness of wasted time. But it is a very pale substitute for attention invested in real challenges.
The flow experience that results from the use of skills leads to growth; passive entertainment leads nowhere.
Complement with our article on why you should read “Flow,” Mortimer Adler on play vs. leisure, and then revisit one of my favorite songs, “Time doesn’t know what its time for us all to know.”
I’m a freelance writer with 6 years of experience in SEO blogging and article publishing. While you’re here, get the latest updates by subscribing to my newsletter.
