Individual Quotes by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

“Entropy is the normal state of consciousness—a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable. To avoid this condition, people are naturally eager to fill…

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Most enjoyable activities are not natural; they demand an effort that initially one is reluctant to make. But once the interaction starts to provide…

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

People without an internalized symbolic system can all too easily become captives of the media.

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Through learning we grow, becoming more than we were before, and in that sense learning is unselfish, because it results in the transformation of…

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

“Unfortunately, many people find the only challenges they can respond to are violence, gambling, random sex, or drugs. Some of these experiences can be…

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

It is essential to learn to enjoy life. It really does not make sense to go through the motions of existence if one does…

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

“It is usual to explain the motivation of those who enjoy dangerous activities as some sort of pathological need: they are trying to exorcise…

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

“Wisdom and integrity cannot be found in any single domain. A broader viewpoint that breaks across disciplinary boundaries is needed, a way of understanding…

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

For better or worse, our future will be determined in large part by our dreams and by the struggle to make them real.

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Many business leaders today view their jobs as entailing responsibility for the welfare of the wider community. These individuals do not define themselves as…

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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.…

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

When each of these three elements of vision-concern for excellence, for people and for the wider environment-are present, business is transformed from a tool…

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

If an enterprise does not aspire to be the best of its kind, it will attract second-rate employees, and it will be soon forgotten.

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

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

Try to be surprised by something every day.

— Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi