“ It is how people respond to stress that determines whether they will profit from misfortune or be miserable. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ For a person to become deeply involved in any activity it is essential that he knows precisely what tasks he must accomplish, moment by moment. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety, when the challenges are just balanced with the person's capacity to act. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ Control of consciousness determines the quality of life. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ If one has failed to develop curiosity and interest in the early years, it is a good idea to acquire them now, before it is too late to improve the quality of life. To do so is fairly easy in principle, but more difficult in practice. Yet it is sure worth trying. The first step is to develop the habit of doing whatever needs to be done with concentrated attention, with skill rather than inertia. Even the most routine tasks, like washing dishes, dressing, or mowing the lawn become more rewarding if we approach them with the care it would take to make a work of art. The next step is to transfer some psychic energy each day from tasks that we don’t like doing, or from passive leisure, into something we never did before, or something we enjoy doing but don’t do often enough because it seems too much trouble. There are literally millions of potentially interesting things in the world to see, to do, to learn about. But they don’t become actually interesting until we devote attention to them. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ Contrary to what we usually believe, moments like these, the best moments in our lives, are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times—although such experiences can also be enjoyable, if we have worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. Optimal experience is thus something that we make happen. For a child, it could be placing with trembling fingers the last blockon a tower she has built, higher than any she has built so far; for a swimmer, it could be trying to beat his own record; for a violinist, mastering an intricate musical passage. For each person there are thousands of opportunities, challenges to expand ourselves. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ These examples suggest what one needs to learn to control attention. In principle any skill or discipline one can master on one’s own will serve: meditation and prayer if one is so inclined; exercise, aerobics, martial arts for those who prefer concentrating on physical skills. Any specialization or expertise that one finds enjoyable and where one can improve one’s knowledge over time. The important thing, however, is the attitude toward these disciplines. If one prays in order to be holy, or exercises to develop strong pectoral muscles, or learns to be knowledgeable, then a great deal of the benefit is lost. The important thing is to enjoy the activity for its own sake, and to know that what matters is not the result, but the control one is acquiring over one’s attention. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ ..Such practices and beliefs, which interfere with happiness, are neither inevitable nor necessary; they evolved by chance, as a result of random responses to accidental conditions. But once they become part of the norms and habits of a culture, people assume that this is how things must be; they come to believe they have no other options. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ It might be true that it is “quality time” that counts, but after a certain point quantity has a bearing on quality. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ But shortcuts are dangerous; we cannot delude ourselves that our knowledge is further along than it actually is. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ It is by becoming increasingly complex that the self might be said to grow. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ Those who seek consolation in existing churches often pay for their peace of mind with a tacit agreement to ignore a great deal of what is known about the way the world works. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ 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… ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ Today 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 marketplace. But such programs make no difference unless management also learns to recognize the valuable ideas among the many novel ones, and then finds ways of implementing them. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ It is by becoming increasingly complex that the self might be said to grow. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
- 1.7K
“ It is by becoming increasingly complex that the self might be said to grow. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ Those who seek consolation in existing churches often pay for their peace of mind with a tacit agreement to ignore a great deal of what is known about the way the world works. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ It is by becoming increasingly complex that the self might be said to grow. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ 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… ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ if the next generation is to face the future with zest and self-confidence, we must educate them to be original as well as competent. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives…most of the things that are interesting, important, and human are the results of creativity… when we are involved in it, we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ even without success, creative persons find joy in a job well done. Learning for its own sake is rewarding… ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives…most of the things that are interesting, important, and human are the results of creativity… when we are involved in it, we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ Today 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 marketplace. But such programs make no difference unless management also learns to recognize the valuable ideas among the many novel ones, and then finds ways of implementing them. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ The quality of life does not depend on happiness alone, but also on what one does to be happy. If one fails to develop goals that give meaning to one's existence, if one does not use the mind to its fullest, then good feelings fulfill just a fraction of the potential we possess… ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ 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… ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ It is by becoming increasingly complex that the self might be said to grow. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
- 2.6K
“ It is by becoming increasingly complex that the self might be said to grow. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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“ Problems are solved only when we devote a great deal of attention to them and in a creative way…to have a good life, it is not enough to remove what is wrong with it. We also need a positive goal, otherwise why keep going? Creativity is one answer to that question: It provides one of the most exciting models for living. ”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi- Copy
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