In this book, happiness researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi examines the flow phenomenon in four completely different areas of human activity: playing chess, rock climbing, dancing, and working. It is a very lively and vividly written book that is interesting for both the layperson dealing with motivation issues in everyday life and the psychologist exploring the problems of intrinsic motivation. Flow refers to a state of happiness that people enter when they become completely absorbed in an activity. Contrary to initial expectations, we usually do not reach this state of near-euphoric mood during idleness or on vacation, but rather when we engage intensely in work or a challenging task.