[NickNaraghi]

Csikszentmihalyi's flow research[0] basically predicts the author's whole arc here. People are happiest during structured, challenging activities with clear goals and tight feedback loops. Coaching middle schoolers in a gym hits every condition on his list.

Btw, the other finding worth mentioning is that people consistently predict that free time and relaxation will make them happier, then report the opposite.

[0] Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience if you haven't read it

[deaux]

> Btw, the other finding worth mentioning is that people consistently predict that free time and relaxation will make them happier, then report the opposite.

Would like to hear more about this. Both for myself and from what I've seen in others, people tend to be far happier during a relaxation-focused holiday trip than during their average working Monday.

[jimbokun]

I once heard a former professional athlete say the hardest thing about working outside the world of sport, was not being able to look up at a scoreboard at the end of the game every week and know how well you did.

[StrangeSound]

Thanks for this, I've ordered it and look forward to reading it!

[TobinCavanaugh]

Very interesting, explains why video games CAN be so much fun.