“The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

Why it was said

This sentence follows directly after the claim that the best moments of our lives are not the passive, relaxing times. Csikszentmihalyi based both on years of interviews and studies in which people described the moments they enjoyed most, from rock climbers and surgeons to factory workers.

What it actually means

The line separates enjoyment from pleasure. Pleasure restores us; enjoyment, in Csikszentmihalyi's sense, changes us, and it tends to come from effort that is chosen, difficult and worth doing. Each word matters. 'Voluntary' rules out strain imposed from outside. 'Stretched to its limits' means the challenge sits just above current skill. 'Worthwhile' means the goal is one we care about. This is the recipe for what he calls flow, and it implies that a good day is designed more than it is relaxed into.

How to use it

1. 1Pick one task this week that sits just beyond your current skill and give it an uninterrupted block of time.
2. 2When a task bores you, raise the challenge with a tighter deadline or a higher standard; when it overwhelms you, break it into smaller steps.
3. 3At the end of the week, note which moments you enjoyed most and what they had in common.