--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Creative life is always based on the…" description: "\"Creative life is always based on the values of the self, not on the values of the system.\" — Clark Moustakas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b9/clark-moustakas-42784_creative_creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-val_2437030.png" --- # Creative life is always based on the values of the self… ![“Creative life is always based on the values of the self, not on the values of the system.” quote by Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b9/clark-moustakas-42784_creative_creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-val_2437030.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b9/clark-moustakas-42784_creative_creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-val_2437030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b9/clark-moustakas-42784_creative_creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-val_2437030.png) > “Creative life is always based on the values of the self, not on the values of the system.” [Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True creativity stems from personal values and inner motivations rather than external expectations or institutional norms. **In simple terms:** Creativity comes from self values, not system values. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal authenticity. Themes creativity self values authenticity Mood reflective inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - artistic projects - personal development - entrepreneurial ventures - education reform Key Concepts humanistic psychology intrinsic motivation Questions to Reflect On - How do you align your work with your core values? - What system constraints hinder your creativity? A Different Perspective Systemic pressures can suppress individuality and limit innovative expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Based Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/based-values-353313/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creative life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-life/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-values-353312/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Values Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values-self-353311/) ## Related quotes > [I want to develop a sense of self, values, morals, and then attract an audience based off those things, as opposed to doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pokimane/i-want-to-develop-a-sense-of-self-values-morals-and-then-attract-an/) [Pokimane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pokimane/) > [That future depends on the values of self-government, our sense of duty, loyalty, self-confidence and regard for the common good. We are a diverse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-miller/that-future-depends-on-the-values-of-self-government-our-sense-of/) [Jeff Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-miller/) > [Self-actualizing people are those who have come to a high level of maturation, health and self-fulfillment... the values that self-actualizers appreciate include truth, creativity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/self-actualizing-people-are-those-who-have-come-to-a-high-level-of/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [My definition of success: When your core values and self-concept are in harmony with your daily actions and behaviors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-spence/my-definition-of-success-when-your-core-values-and-self-concept-are/) [John Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-spence/) > [Justice is based on values. And those change every generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiichiro-oda/justice-is-based-on-values-and-those-change-every-generation/) [Eiichiro Oda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiichiro-oda/) > [The choices politicians make must be based on values - not an arbitrary, axe-wielding approach to public spending or a dismal exchange between Gordon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clegg/the-choices-politicians-make-must-be-based-on-values-not-an-arbitrary/) [Nick Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clegg/) > [Integrity is your thoughts & action based on your values rather than your personal gain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/integrity-is-your-thoughts-action-based-on-your-values-rather-than/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [“we choose our life based on our values..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravindran-g/we-choose-our-life-based-on-our-values/) [Ravindran. g](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravindran-g/) > [As our values are the core to who we are as human beings, they are also the easiest way to identify and connect with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-braun/as-our-values-are-the-core-to-who-we-are-as-human-beings-they-are/) [Adam Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-braun/) > [So much business is based on the belief that we should do whatever we can within legal limits to make as much money as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-greenfield/so-much-business-is-based-on-the-belief-that-we-should-do-whatever-we/) [Jerry Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-greenfield/) > [In those who rest on their unshakable faith, pharisaism and fanaticism are the unmistakable symptoms of doubt which has been repressed. Doubt is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/in-those-who-rest-on-their-unshakable-faith-pharisaism-and-fanaticism/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [A creative life is an amplified life. It's a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/a-creative-life-is-an-amplified-life-it-s-a-bigger-life-a-happier/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Friends who love you and have warmth for your creative life are the very best suns in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/friends-who-love-you-and-have-warmth-for-your-creative-life-are-the/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [The secret of the creative life is to feel at ease with your own embarrassment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-schrader/the-secret-of-the-creative-life-is-to-feel-at-ease-with-your-own/) [Paul Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-schrader/) > [The libertarian can have no truck with 'left' or 'right' because he regrets any form of authoritarianism - the use of police force to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/the-libertarian-can-have-no-truck-with-left-or-right-because-he/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) ## More by Clark Moustakas > [When we are not honest, we are cut off from a significant resource of ourselves, a vital dimension that is necessary for unity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/when-we-are-not-honest-we-are-cut-off-from-a-significant-resource-of/) [Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) > [Viewing the child solely as an immature person is a way of escaping comforting him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/viewing-the-child-solely-as-an-immature-person-is-a-way-of-escaping/) [Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) > [A compassionate willingess is required - as is the courage to live before the fact, before the understanding, before any rational support or certainty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/a-compassionate-willingess-is-required-as-is-the-courage-to-live/) [Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) > [A paradox arises: the only way to meaning in freedom is through boundaries. The only way that boundaries make any sense at all is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/a-paradox-arises-the-only-way-to-meaning-in-freedom-is-through/) [Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) > [The individual increasingly comes to know who he is through the stand he takes when he expresses his ideas, values, beliefs, and convictions, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/the-individual-increasingly-comes-to-know-who-he-is-through-the-stand/) [Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) > [We can help a person to be himself by our own willingness to steep ourselves temporarily in his world, in his private feelings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/we-can-help-a-person-to-be-himself-by-our-own-willingness-to-steep/) [Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) > [When a person acts without knowledge of what he thinks, feels, needs or wants, he does not yet have the option of choosing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/when-a-person-acts-without-knowledge-of-what-he-thinks-feels-needs-or/) [Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) > [The most dramatic conflicts are perhaps, those that take place not between men but between a man and himself - where the arena of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/the-most-dramatic-conflicts-are-perhaps-those-that-take-place-not/) [Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) > [You can at any time decide to alter the course of your life; no one can take that away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/you-can-at-any-time-decide-to-alter-the-course-of-your-life-no-one/) [Clark Moustakas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) [Explore all 10 Clark Moustakas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/) ## More Creative quotes > [An artist's creative energy is ephemeral as a flower. It blooms and soon dies. No artist is great forever. Personally, I think I reached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ki-duk/an-artist-s-creative-energy-is-ephemeral-as-a-flower-it-blooms-and/) [Kim Ki-duk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ki-duk/) > [When you're being truly creative, time stands still, and you enter a dimension that can carry you beyond the ordinariness of everyday life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-linn/when-you-re-being-truly-creative-time-stands-still-and-you-enter-a/) [Denise Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-linn/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Money is only used for two things. One, it's to make you comfortable, and the more comfortable you are the more creative you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/money-is-only-used-for-two-things-one-it-s-to-make-you-comfortable/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [I can't let fear kill my creative brain. Fear is the killer. Your bad choices come from fear. And I'm constantly combating fear. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-can-t-let-fear-kill-my-creative-brain-fear-is-the-killer-your-bad/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [The creative strength is good enough and deep enough to bring itself to flower and to grow in spite of this sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-creative-strength-is-good-enough-and-deep-enough-to-bring-itself/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) > [Anytime I get the chance to sing or work with Michael John, it is such an incredibly fertile and incredibly creative and safe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audra-mcdonald/anytime-i-get-the-chance-to-sing-or-work-with-michael-john-it-is-such/) [Audra McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audra-mcdonald/) > [What Sri Chinmoy does is God-given! He has a tremendous, a fantastic creative urge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-shankar/what-sri-chinmoy-does-is-god-given-he-has-a-tremendous-a-fantastic/) [Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-shankar/) > [Majority decisions tend to be made without engaging the systematic thought and critical thinking skills of the individuals in the group. Given the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/majority-decisions-tend-to-be-made-without-engaging-the-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [when times are tough, the weak bail and the tough get creative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/when-times-are-tough-the-weak-bail-and-the-tough-get-creative/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [Teasing out the way the world might look through another's eyes is what makes the creative process so fascinating and enjoyable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/teasing-out-the-way-the-world-might-look-through-another-s-eyes-is/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) [Browse all 7,284 Creative quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Creative life is always based on the values of the self, not on the values of the system.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Clark Moustakas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-values-of-the-self-not-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creative" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-values-of-the-self-not-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b9/clark-moustakas-42784_creative_creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-val_2437030.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b9/clark-moustakas-42784_creative_creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-val_2437030.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b9/clark-moustakas-42784_creative_creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-val_2437030.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Creative life is always based on the values of the self, not on the values of the system.” — Clark Moustakas", "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": "Clark Moustakas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-moustakas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Creative life is always based on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-values-of-the-self-not-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-moustakas/creative-life-is-always-based-on-the-values-of-the-self-not-on-the/#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 } } ] } ```