Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life (Masterminds Series)

Work itself becomes as enjoyable as leisure, and when one needs a break from it, leisure is likely to be true recreation instead of a scheme for dulling the mind.

In any case, we have seen that at the social as well as the individual level habits of leisure act as both effects and as causes. When the lifestyle of a social group becomes obsolete, when work turns into a boring routine and community responsibilities lose their meaning, it is likely that leisure will become increasingly more important. And if a society becomes too dependent on entertainment, it is likely that there will be less psychic energy left to cope creatively with the technological and economic challenges that will inevitably arise.

Ironically, it seems that how much happiness and enjoyment we get from leisure has no relation at all-if anything, a negative relation-to the amount of material energy consumed while doing it.