Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiWhether we like it or not, each of us is constrained by limits on what we can do and feel. To ignore these limits leads to denial and eventually to failure. To achieve excellence,… ▶361LifeReadingTruth
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiPeople who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives, which is as close as any of us can come to being happy. ✨ Mihaly Csikszent… ▶373HumanityLife
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiIt 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 physi… ▶363LifePhilosophy
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiControl of consciousness determines the quality of life. ✨ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2009). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, p.26, Harper Collins374Life
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiThe germ of an idea doesn't make the sculpture that stands up... so the next stage is hard work331Thought
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiIt 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 … ▶342LifeTruth
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiA 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 … ▶364Reflection
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyithe self expands through acts of self forgetfulness. ✨ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1996). Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, Harpercollins342Humanity
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiHow we feel about ourselves, the joy we get from living, ultimately depends directly on how the mind filters and interprets everyday experiences. Whether we are happy depends on i… ▶353LifeThought
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiIn large organizations the dilution of information as it passes up and down the hierarchy, and horizontally across departments, can undermine the effort to focus on common goals. … ▶376Philosophy
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiHowever, 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 develop… ▶365LifePhilosophy
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiBut shortcuts are dangerous; we cannot delude ourselves that our knowledge is further along than it actually is. ✨ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1997). Finding Flow: The Psycholo… ▶332LifeReading
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiIt is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were. When we choose a goal and invest ours… ▶344Love
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiWe cannot deny the facts of nature, but we should certainly try to improve on them. ✨ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2001). Flow: the psychology of optimal experience377LifeTruth
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiContrary to what most of us believe, happiness does not simply happen to us. It's something that we make happen, and it results from doing our best. Feeling fulfilled when we live… ▶344Philosophy
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiIn knowledge-intensive business settings, where every manager has to oversee massive amounts of information as well as people, facilitating the use of psychic energy becomes a pri… ▶377HumanityPhilosophy
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiToday many American corporations spend a great deal of money and time trying to increase the originality of their employees, hoping thereby to get a competitive edge in the market… ▶322ReadingThoughtTime
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiThose periods of struggling to overcome challenges are what people find to be the most enjoyable times. ✨ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2001). Flow: the psychology of optimal exp… ▶378HumanityLifeTime
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiI think that evolution has had a hand in selecting people who had a sense of doing something beyond themselves. ✨ Creating Purpose by Jen Grisanti, www.huffingtonpost.com. J… ▶334HumanityThought
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiSince the purpose of business is to satisfy existing desires, or stimulate new ones, if everyone were genuinely happy, there would be no need for business any longer. ✨ Miha… ▶335Philosophy
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiFew 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 a… ▶302LifeSadness
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiBut it is impossible to enjoy a tennis game, a book, or a conversation unless attention is fully concentrated on the activity. ✨ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2001). Flow: the ps… ▶335LifeReading
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiThe foremost reason that happiness is so hard to achieve is that the universe was not designed with the comfort of human beings in mind...It seems that every time a pressing dange… ▶325HumanityThoughtTime
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiCreativity is any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one What counts is whether the novelty he or she produces… ▶3710ReadingThought
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiThe best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times...the best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to it's limited in voluntar… ▶336ThoughtTime
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiWe can either help to make this world a more incredible place than it has ever been, or we can hasten its return to inorganic dust. ✨ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2004). Good Bu… ▶347Philosophy
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiTo be creative, a person has to internalize the entire system that makes creativity possible. Creative individuals are remarkable for their ability to adapt to almost any situatio… ▶303Politics
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiPain and pleasure occur in consciousness and exist only there ✨ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2001). Flow: the psychology of optimal experience314LifeSadness
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiSir 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 (2004). G… ▶348HumanityPhilosophy
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiA person who forgoes the use of his symbolic skills is never really free. ✨ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2001). Flow: the psychology of optimal experience359Life
