Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

Eudaimonia is a Greek word that is usually translated to mean happiness or well-being. The Greek philosopher Aristotle and others saw it as meaning the “highest human good [...] that is desirable for its own sake (as an end in itself) rather than for the sake of something else (as a means toward some other end)” (“Eudaimonia.” Britannica).

Aristotle linked eudaimonia with virtue and morality, while modern psychologists consider it within the context of well-being. Gilbert defines it as “the highest degree of human happiness” (67). She connects it to the concept of “well-daemoned,” a “daemon” being a type of genius or good spirit that guides people (67). She suggests that people have an “external genius” guiding them, a concept she prefers to the idea of people being geniuses themselves. She also connects the idea of an external genius to the concept of the flow state, noting that people today prefer to view the mysteriousness of genius as flow instead of an external guide.

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi cites nine elements to this experience: having clear goals, getting instant feedback to one’s actions, balancing challenge and the use of skills, combining action and awareness, minimizing distractions, discarding any concerns about failure, having a lack of self-consciousness, feeling a distortion of time, and doing an activity that is only for itself.