28. Answer the following questions about the text.

1. Is it true that people feel at their best when they indulge in low-challenge, low-skill activities?

2. Are people happiest when they are most absorbed in their activities?

3. Do people most often enter a flow state when they engage in their favourite activities?

4. Can we learn to maximize these positive moments?

5. According to the article, how can we improve our spiritual or psychic wellbeing?

29. Read the article in more detail. Answer the questions below.

1. What research did Mihály Csíkszentmihályi carry out?

2. According to the author, what is a key component of happiness?

3. What is “flow” in psychology?

4. How did Mihály Csíkszentmihályi come to the idea of flow?

5. How does it feel to be in the flow?

6. Do the choices people make influence the quality of their life?

30. Complete the paragraph using the words from the box.

fascinated, absorbed, research, need, enjoyment, wake up, stop, experienced

Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and ___ in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does.

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi and his fellow researchers began researching flow after Csikszentmihalyi became ___ by artists who would essentially get lost in their work. Artists, especially painters, got so immersed in their work that they would disregard their ___ for food, water and even sleep. Thus, the origin of ___ on the theory of flow came about when Csíkszentmihályi tried to understand this phenomenon ___ by these artists.

Historical sources hint that Michelangelo may have painted the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel while in a flow state. It is reported that he painted for days at a time, and he was so ___ in his work that he did not even ___ for food or sleep until he reached the point of passing out. After this, he would ___ refreshed and, upon starting to paint again, re-enter a state of complete absorption.

31. Read the article and do the task after it. How to Start the Active Leisure Habit

Filling your free time with useful pursuits is a way of increasing your creativity, energy, enthusiasm, and sense of fulfillment from life. In this article, you’ll have the chance to explore various ways of filling your free time with useful and fulfilling activities.

There are many ways you can upgrade your leisure time, but it (1) ______________________. Unlike watching television or relaxing, opportunities for flow need to be structured in advance. It can sometimes require planning and always requires an initial push of momentum to get started.

Here are a couple ideas to get the ball rolling¹.

Make a plan for your free time. Spare time will only become useful to you if you’ve focused on (2) ____________________. Write down a list of the things you’d like to be doing in your time off. Look for activities and experiences that excite and energize you. Consider some of the following hobbies that you can get started on your own: teaching yourself a new computer programming language, learning a new foreign language, graphic designing, amateur photography, learning a new type of dancing, making jewelry, cooking or baking, teaching private classes on something you already love doing.

Hobbies are useful because they (3) _____________________, improve skills, and to be focused, diligent, and switched on. Moreover, a hobby allows you to enjoy yourself as you immerse² yourself in the intricacies³ of it. Be sure to reach out to others in the same hobby so that you can connect and share ideas.

Change your approach to media usage. Turn off the TV and (4) ___________________ to use media in your free time. The Internet allows us to be in charge of the input that is circulated through media, providing you with ample opportunities for turning your free time into a useful means for getting out creative, practical, or informative messages that you’d like to share with the world.

Be active. Sports and exercise may be considered recreational, but they are very important because they help you be energized so that you may be able to accomplish more activities. Find a physical activity that will get you to move and provide a challenging environment. Not only will this (5) ____________________, but it will put your mind into a state of flow more easily than sitting on the couch.

Challenge yourself to learn a new language. This has always been a goal of mine. I’ve heard from many sources that it can be both challenging and enjoyable (6) _______________________.

Start a Project. One of my personal favorites is to get a new project going. To me a new project means finding out new things, rising to new challenges and reacting to new situations. Starting a project to complete something over the course of a couple months (7) _______________________. Go start that project you’ve been thinking about!

Nicole Willson

________________________

¹ get the ball rolling – начать что-либо

² immerse – погружаться, уходить с головой

³ intricacy – запутанность, сложность

Find the places in the text where the following phrases should go.

1. give you the opportunity to expand knowledge

2. keep you healthy

3. how you’d like to use it

4. requires effort

5. can be exciting and incredibly rewarding

6. to gain fluency in a non-native tongue

7. think about creative ways