100 Ways To Motivate Yourself, Third Edition

87. Put more enjoyment in

There is a huge difference between pleasure and enjoyment. And when we’re absolutely clear about the difference, we can grow much faster toward a focused and energized life. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi best describes this difference in his various books on “flow”—the psychological state that we get in when time disappears and we are thoroughly engaged in what we’re doing.

Csikszentmihalyi distinguishes what we do for pleasure (routine sex, eating, drinking, and so on) from what we do for enjoyment. Enjoyment is deeper. Enjoyment always involves the use of a skill and the facing of a challenge. So sailing, gardening, painting, bowling, golfing, cooking, and any such activity involving skills meeting a challenge constitute ...