A person who forgoes the use of his symbolic skills is never really free. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi More Quotes by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi More Quotes From Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Purpose provides activation energy for living. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi activationenergypurpose Competition is an easy way to get into flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi competitionflowway the self expands through acts of self forgetfulness. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi self-forgetfulnessforgetfulnessself Attention is psychic energy, and like physical energy, unless we allocate some part of it to the task at hand, no work gets done. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi businessworkhands One of the surest ways to enrich life is to make experiences less fleeting. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi fleetinglife-isway What does this contradictory pattern mean?one conclusion seems inevitable: when it comes to work, people do not heed the evidence of their senses. They disregard the quality of immediate experience, and base their motivation instead on the strongly rooted cultural stereotype of what work is supposed to be like. They think of it as an imposition, a constraint, an infringement of their freedom, and therefore something to be avoided as much as possible. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi motivationmeanthinking ...if we expended all our energies solely on taking care of our own needs we would stop growing. In that respect what we call "soul" can be viewed as the surplus energy that can be invested into change and transformation. As such, it is the cutting edge of evolution. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi cuttingbusinesschange The more a person feels skilled, the more her moods will improve; while the more challenges that are present, the more her attention will become focused and concentrated. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi focuschallengesattention If I had to express in one word what makes their [creative individuals'] personalities different from others, it's complexity. They show tendencies of thought and action that in most people are segregated. They contain contradictory extremes; instead of being an "individual," each of them is a "multitude." Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi differentcreativepeople Competition is enjoyable only when it is a means to perfect one’s skills; when it becomes an end in itself, it ceases to be fun. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi perfect-onefunmean Only direct control of experience, the ability to derive moment-by-moment enjoyment from everything we do, can overcome the obstacles to fulfillment. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi obstaclesmomentsovercoming Perform with elan, brilliance and dash - at concert pitch. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi brillianceconcerts Studying creativity is not an elite distraction, but provides one of the most exciting models for living. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi distractioncreativitystudy Repression is not the way to virtue. When people restrain themselves out of fear, their lives are by necessity diminished. Only through freely chosen discipline can life be enjoyed and still kept within the bounds of reason. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi disciplinepeopleway A self that is only differentiated - not integrated - may attain great individual accomplishments, but risks being mired in self-centered egotism. By the same token, a person who self is based exclusively on integration will be well connected and secure, but lack autonomous individuality. Only when a person invests equal amounts of psychic energy in these two processes and avoids both selfishness and conformity is the self likely to reflect complexity. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi psychicsselftwo Creative individuals are more likely to have not only the strengths of their own gender but those of the other one, too. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi genderindividualcreative There will be no good business unless the majority comes to agree that we should demand more from business than large quarterly returns. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi demandmajorityreturn ...perhaps the most distinguishing trait of visionary leaders is that they believe in a goal that benefits not only themselves, but others as well. It is such vision that attracts the psychic energy of other people, and makes them willing to work beyond the call of duty for the organization. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi businessworkinspirational Happiness does not simply happen to us. It's something that we make happen. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi doehappens Each of us is born with two contradictory sets of instructions: a conservative tendency, made up of instincts for self-preservation, self-aggrandizement, and saving energy, and an expansive tendency made up of instincts for exploring, for enjoying novelty and risk-the curiosity that leads to creativity belongs to this set. But whereas the first tendency requires little encouragement or support from outside to motivate behaviour, the second can wilt if not cultivated. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi creativityencouragementself
