Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály. (1997). Finding Flow: the Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life (pg. 22). Basic Books.
In the 1960s, Hungarian-born student named Mihály Csíkszentmihályi accidently came to attend a lecture of Jung’s and from that point on decided to become a psychologist. Csíkszentmihályi went on, beginning in 1978, to incorporate Jung’s psychic entropy theory into a flow theory of optimal experience in positive psychology, where psychic entropy, in Csíkszentmihályi’s view, is interpreted as disorder in the consciousness or as mental states that produce conflict with individual goals.
In the converse situation, he states:
“Positive emotions like happiness, strength, or alertness are states of ‘psychic negentropy’ because we don’t need attention to ruminate and feel sorry for ourselves, and psychic energy can flow freely into whatever thought or task we choose to invest it in … therefore intentions, goals, and motivations are also manifestations of psychic negentropy. They focus psychic energy, establish priorities, and this create order in the consciousness.”
