PSC 126 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Resiliency: The Foundation of Mental Immunity
● Resilient people
○ They begin with the end in mind (purpose - driven)
● Alfred Nobel
○ Swedish chemist, engineer, industrialist
○ Invented dynamite
○ Founded the Nobel Prizes
● Power of purpose: 2 examples
○ Purpose in life related to living longer
○ Slowing Alzheimer’s
● Why purpose is beneficial
○ Focuses our mind
○ Provides sense of accomplishment
○ Creates hope for the future
○ Our brains are wired for purpose
● The human brain cannot sustain purposeless living
○ It’s systems are designed for purposive action
● Resilient people have grit
○ Grit - perseverance & passion for long - term goals
○ “Everything will be alright in the end, & if it is not alright, it is not the end”
● Resilient people have a sense of connection
● Compassion
○ “Compassion is a sense of concern that arises when we are confronted with
another’s suffering & feel motivated to see that suffering relieved”
○ Empathy - experiencing another’s emotion
○ Compassion - “a more empowered state where we want what is best for the other
person”
● Generosity
○ “When we practice generosity… we are practicing all the other pillars of joy”
■ Wider perspective
■ Humility
■ Sense of humor
■ Acceptance of life
■ Forgiveness of others
■ Gratitude for all that has been given
■ Compassion and desire to help
● The resilient people - they generate “flow experience”
● Flow: Csikszentmihalyi
○ An optimal state of experience
○ Caught in a natural, almost effortless movement from one step to the next
○ Intensely enjoyable, but not relaxing
○ Occurs when a person’s body or mind is stretched to accomplish something
difficult or worthwhile
Document Summary
They begin with the end in mind (purpose - driven) Purpose in life related to living longer. The human brain cannot sustain purposeless living. It"s systems are designed for purposive action. Grit - perseverance & passion for long - term goals. Everything will be alright in the end, & if it is not alright, it is not the end . Resilient people have a sense of connection. Compassion is a sense of concern that arises when we are confronted with another"s suffering & feel motivated to see that suffering relieved . Compassion - a more empowered state where we want what is best for the other person . When we practice generosity we are practicing all the other pillars of joy . Gratitude for all that has been given. The resilient people - they generate flow experience . Caught in a natural, almost effortless movement from one step to the next.
