--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The mainspring of creativity appears to…" description: "\"The mainspring of creativity appears to be the same tendency which we discover so deeply as the curative force in psychotherapy, man's tendency to actu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/carl-rogers-6883_activate_the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to_1865316.jpg" --- # The mainspring of creativity appears to be the same… ![“The mainspring of creativity appears to be the same tendency which we discover so deeply as the curative force in psychotherapy, man's tendency to actualize himself, to become his potentialities. By this I mean the organic and human life, the urge to expand, extend, develop, mature - the tendency…” quote by Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/carl-rogers-6883_activate_the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to_1865316.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/carl-rogers-6883_activate_the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to_1865316.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/carl-rogers-6883_activate_the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to_1865316.jpg) > “The mainspring of creativity appears to be the same tendency which we discover so deeply as the curative force in psychotherapy, man's tendency to actualize himself, to become his potentialities. By this I mean the organic and human life, the urge to expand, extend, develop, mature - the tendency to express and activate all the capacities of the organism, or the self.” [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creativity stems from the innate drive to actualize one's potential, similar to therapeutic self‑actualization. **In simple terms:** Creativity is the urge to grow and use all abilities. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑growth to boost creativity. Themes self‑actualization creativity personal growth Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career development - artistic projects - learning new skills - personal therapy Key Concepts human potential psychotherapy organic development Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑actualization influence your creative work? - What barriers prevent you from expressing your capacities? A Different Perspective May overlook external constraints that limit expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Organisms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organisms/) [Psychotherapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychotherapy/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [A man has a tendency to accept you the way you are, while most women immediately start to pick flaws and want to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/a-man-has-a-tendency-to-accept-you-the-way-you-are-while-most-women/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [“Sometimes man has a tendency to look at someone else’s situation in order to find some type of justification or validation with his own,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-n-joy/sometimes-man-has-a-tendency-to-look-at-someone-else-s-situation-in/) [E.N. Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-n-joy/) > [Although the client-centered approach had its origin purely within the limits of the psychological clinic, it is proving to have implications, often of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/although-the-client-centered-approach-had-its-origin-purely-within/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Using the energy in a scene can really cut the fat off of something and streamline it. It can make it work for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/using-the-energy-in-a-scene-can-really-cut-the-fat-off-of-something/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Chosen are those artists who penetrate to the region of that secret place where primeval power nurtures all evolution. There, where the powerhouse of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/chosen-are-those-artists-who-penetrate-to-the-region-of-that-secret/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [If you pay 50 million for something, you probably pay another 50 to 100 million to activate it. And the more you spend, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/if-you-pay-50-million-for-something-you-probably-pay-another-50-to/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [When you regularly take continuous action toward your most important goals, you activate the Momentum Principle of success. This principle says that although it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/when-you-regularly-take-continuous-action-toward-your-most-important/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Like electricity, the Light is everywhere, but one must know how to activate it. I have come for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-meera/like-electricity-the-light-is-everywhere-but-one-must-know-how-to/) [Mother Meera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-meera/) > [The Charge will change your life. Our brains are hard wired to meet specific human drives, and learning to harness and activate those drives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-amen/the-charge-will-change-your-life-our-brains-are-hard-wired-to-meet/) [Daniel Amen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-amen/) > [The fact that the scrub literally comes out into your hand as a powder and then activates with water is a really cool thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-mitchell/the-fact-that-the-scrub-literally-comes-out-into-your-hand-as-a/) [Shay Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-mitchell/) > [Brains distinguish between an Us and a Them in a fraction of a second. Subliminal processing of a Them activates the amygdala and insular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/brains-distinguish-between-an-us-and-a-them-in-a-fraction-of-a-second/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [The products we design are going to be ridden in, sat upon, looked at, talked into, activated, operated, or in some way used by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-dreyfuss/the-products-we-design-are-going-to-be-ridden-in-sat-upon-looked-at/) [Henry Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-dreyfuss/) > [Cliché activates the comfortable mental laziness, we sort of revert to the domain of the already-familiar, what we have already imagined so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/clich-activates-the-comfortable-mental-laziness-we-sort-of-revert-to/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [With liquid zeolite, we have returned to the basic healing approach for all chronic diseases, which is to free up and activate the vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-cousens/with-liquid-zeolite-we-have-returned-to-the-basic-healing-approach/) [Gabriel Cousens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-cousens/) > [The verb that's been enforced on girls is to please. Girls are trained to please...I want us all to change the verb. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-verb-that-s-been-enforced-on-girls-is-to-please-girls-are-trained/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) ## More by Carl Rogers > [A second characteristic of the process which for me is the good life, is that it involves an increasingly tendency to live fully in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/a-second-characteristic-of-the-process-which-for-me-is-the-good-life/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Each person is an island unto himself, in a very real sense; and he can only build bridges to other islands if he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/each-person-is-an-island-unto-himself-in-a-very-real-sense-and-he-can/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [It is the client who knows what hurts, what directions to go, what problems are crucial, what experiences have been deeply buried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/it-is-the-client-who-knows-what-hurts-what-directions-to-go-what/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Life is about Being & Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/life-is-about-being-becoming/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [The genuinely significant creation, whether an idea, or a work of art, or a scientific discovery, is most likely to be seen at first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/the-genuinely-significant-creation-whether-an-idea-or-a-work-of-art/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Adults who think that children must be manipulated for their own good have developed the attitude of a controlling parent who lacks faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/adults-who-think-that-children-must-be-manipulated-for-their-own-good/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [The state of empathy, or being empathic, is to perceive the internal frame of reference of another with accuracy and with the emotional components…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/the-state-of-empathy-or-being-empathic-is-to-perceive-the-internal/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [In a person who is open to experience each stimulus is freely relayed through the nervous system, without being distorted by any process of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/in-a-person-who-is-open-to-experience-each-stimulus-is-freely-relayed/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [It is that the individual has within him or herself vast resources for self-understanding, for altering the self-concept basic attitudes, and his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/it-is-that-the-individual-has-within-him-or-herself-vast-resources/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [We in the West seem to have made a fetish out of complete individual self-sufficiency, of not needing help, of being completely private except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/we-in-the-west-seem-to-have-made-a-fetish-out-of-complete-individual/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [I think my deepest criticism of the educational system . . . is that it's all based upon a distrust of the student. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/i-think-my-deepest-criticism-of-the-educational-system-is-that-it-s/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/the-curious-paradox-is-that-when-i-accept-myself-just-as-i-am-then-i/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [It's an awful risky thing to live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/it-s-an-awful-risky-thing-to-live/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [To be original, or different, is felt to be "dangerous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/to-be-original-or-different-is-felt-to-be-dangerous/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Man's inability to communicate is a result of his failure to listen effectively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/man-s-inability-to-communicate-is-a-result-of-his-failure-to-listen/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) [Explore all 96 Carl Rogers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) ## More Activate quotes > [The verb that's been enforced on girls is to please. Girls are trained to please...I want us all to change the verb. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-verb-that-s-been-enforced-on-girls-is-to-please-girls-are-trained/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [With liquid zeolite, we have returned to the basic healing approach for all chronic diseases, which is to free up and activate the vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-cousens/with-liquid-zeolite-we-have-returned-to-the-basic-healing-approach/) [Gabriel Cousens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-cousens/) > [Cliché activates the comfortable mental laziness, we sort of revert to the domain of the already-familiar, what we have already imagined so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/clich-activates-the-comfortable-mental-laziness-we-sort-of-revert-to/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [The products we design are going to be ridden in, sat upon, looked at, talked into, activated, operated, or in some way used by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-dreyfuss/the-products-we-design-are-going-to-be-ridden-in-sat-upon-looked-at/) [Henry Dreyfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-dreyfuss/) > [Brains distinguish between an Us and a Them in a fraction of a second. Subliminal processing of a Them activates the amygdala and insular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/brains-distinguish-between-an-us-and-a-them-in-a-fraction-of-a-second/) [Robert M. Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) > [The fact that the scrub literally comes out into your hand as a powder and then activates with water is a really cool thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-mitchell/the-fact-that-the-scrub-literally-comes-out-into-your-hand-as-a/) [Shay Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-mitchell/) > [The Charge will change your life. Our brains are hard wired to meet specific human drives, and learning to harness and activate those drives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-amen/the-charge-will-change-your-life-our-brains-are-hard-wired-to-meet/) [Daniel Amen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-amen/) > [Like electricity, the Light is everywhere, but one must know how to activate it. I have come for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-meera/like-electricity-the-light-is-everywhere-but-one-must-know-how-to/) [Mother Meera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-meera/) > [When you regularly take continuous action toward your most important goals, you activate the Momentum Principle of success. This principle says that although it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/when-you-regularly-take-continuous-action-toward-your-most-important/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [If you pay 50 million for something, you probably pay another 50 to 100 million to activate it. And the more you spend, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/if-you-pay-50-million-for-something-you-probably-pay-another-50-to/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [Chosen are those artists who penetrate to the region of that secret place where primeval power nurtures all evolution. There, where the powerhouse of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/chosen-are-those-artists-who-penetrate-to-the-region-of-that-secret/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Using the energy in a scene can really cut the fat off of something and streamline it. It can make it work for you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/using-the-energy-in-a-scene-can-really-cut-the-fat-off-of-something/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [The Universe is a unity, an interacting and genetically-related community of beings bound together in an inseparable relationship in space and time... The human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/the-universe-is-a-unity-an-interacting-and-genetically-related/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [You simply cannot understand psychedelic drugs, which activate the brain, unless you understand something about computers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/you-simply-cannot-understand-psychedelic-drugs-which-activate-the/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Either you vegetate and look out a window, or activate and try to effect change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/either-you-vegetate-and-look-out-a-window-or-activate-and-try-to/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) Browse all 92 Activate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The mainspring of creativity appears to be the same tendency which we discover so deeply as the curative force in psychotherapy, man's tendency to actualize himself, to become his potentialities. By this I mean the organic and human life, the urge to expand, extend, develop, mature - the tendency to express and activate all the capacities of the organism, or the self.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Rogers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to-be-the-same-tendency-which-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to-be-the-same-tendency-which-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/carl-rogers-6883_activate_the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to_1865316.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/carl-rogers-6883_activate_the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to_1865316.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/carl-rogers-6883_activate_the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to_1865316.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The mainspring of creativity appears to be the same tendency which we discover so deeply as the curative…” — Carl Rogers", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carl Rogers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The mainspring of creativity appears to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to-be-the-same-tendency-which-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/the-mainspring-of-creativity-appears-to-be-the-same-tendency-which-we/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```