Elements of Enjoyment

This is one of the best descriptions of flying I've seen... and it isn't even about flying. A Dr. Csikszentmihalyi describes the "elements of enjoyment" that comprise an optimal experience, or "flow". Here is Ken Robinson's description of these elements in his book The Element How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything...

... facing a challenge that requires a skill one possesses, complete absorption in an activity, clear goals and feedback, concentration on the task at hand that allows one to forget everything else, the loss of self-consciousness and the sense that time "transforms" during the experience. "The key element of an optimal experience," he says in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, "is that it is an end in itself. Even if initially undertaken for other reasons, the activity that consumes us becomes intrinsically rewarding."

When I fly.. I experience that "flow" or I'm "in the zone" or however you describe it. I've found my passion in flight, when I fly I'm in my own element. Where I know I belong. What's your passion? Your element? If you don't know.. try to find it. It will be worth your while!