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 More Quotes by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi More Quotes From Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Optimal experience is that rare occasion when we feel a sense of exhilaration, a deep sense of enjoyment that is long cherished and that becomes a landmark in memory for what life should be like. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi rare-occasionmemorieslong Few things are sadder than encountering a person who knows exactly what he should do, yet cannot muster enough energy to do it. "He who desires but acts not," wrote Blake with his accustomed vigor, "Breeds pestilence. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi vigorenergydesire Develop what you lack. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi growth It is amazing how little effort most people make to improve control of their attention. If reading a book seems too difficult, instead of sharpening concentration we tend to set it aside and instead turn on the television, which not only requires minimal attention, but in fact tends to diffuse what little it commands with choppy editing, commercial interruptions, and generally inane content. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi readingeditingbook Produce as many ideas as possible. Try to produce unlikely ideas. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi unlikelytryingideas Sir John Templeton: "My ethical principle in the first place was: 'Where could I use my talents that God gave me to help the most people?'" Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi ethical-principlesusepeople It is not the skills we actually have that determine how we feel but the ones we think we have. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi skillsfeelsthinking People generally report higher levels of stress, depression, and tension after watching TV. It seems that TV's main virtue is that it occupies the mind undemandingly. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi stresstechnologypeople Pleasure is an important component of the quality of life, but by itself it does not bring happiness. Pleasure helps to maintain order, but by itself cannot create a new order in consciousness. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi qualityimportantorder If there is one word that makes creative people different from others, it is the word complexity. Instead of being an individual, they are a multitude. Like the color white that includes all colors, they tend to bring together the entire range of human possibilities within themselves. Creativity allows for paradox, light, shadow, inconsistency, even chaos -and creative people experience both extremes with equal intensity. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi color-whitecreativitylight Control of consciousness determines the quality of life. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi quality-of-lifequalityconsciousness It is as if evolution has built a safety device in our nervous system that allows us to experience full happiness only when we are living at 100%-when we are fully using the physical and mental equipment we have been given. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi safetybusinesshappiness A business is successful to the extent that it provides a product or service that contributes to happiness in all of its forms. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi businesssuccessfulhappiness A thoroughly socialized person is one who desires only the rewards that others around him have agreed he should long for - rewards often grafted onto genetically programmed desires.A person who cannot override genetic instructions when necessary is always vulnerable..The solution is to gradually become free of societal rewards and learn how to substitute for them rewards that are under one's own powers. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi rewardsdesirelong A person who forgoes the use of his symbolic skills is never really free. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi symbolicskillsuse We can transform reality to the extent that we influence what happens in consciousness and thus free ourselves from the threats and blandishments of the outside world. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi consciousnessrealityworld However, a good life consists of more than simply the totality of enjoyable experiences. It must also have a meaningful pattern, a trajectory of growth that results in the development of increasing emotional, cognitive, and social complexity. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi good-lifebusinessmeaningful It does not seem to be true that work necessarily needs to be unpleasant. It may always have to be hard, or at least harder than doing nothing at all. But there is ample evidence that work can be enjoyable, and that indeed, it is often the most enjoyable part of life. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi doejoyneeds To be successful you have to enjoy doing your best while at the same time contributing to something beyond yourself. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi doing-your-bestsuccesshappy The rules themselves are clear enough, and within everyone’s reach. But many forces, both within ourselves and in the environment, stand in the way. It is a little like trying to lose weight: everyone knows what it takes, everyone wants to do it, yet it is next to impossible for so many. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi weightwanttrying
