--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People were happier, felt more fulfilled…" description: "\"“People were happier, felt more fulfilled by what they were dong, while they were at work than during their leisure hours. In their free time, they ten..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ea/nicholas-carr-4579_desire_people-were-happier-felt-more-fulfilled_2340790.jpg" --- # People were happier, felt more fulfilled by what they were… ![“People were happier, felt more fulfilled by what they were dong, while they were at work than during their leisure hours. In their free time, they tended to feel bored and anxious. And yet they didn't like to be at work. When they were on the job, they expressed a strong desire to be off the job…” quote by Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ea/nicholas-carr-4579_desire_people-were-happier-felt-more-fulfilled_2340790.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ea/nicholas-carr-4579_desire_people-were-happier-felt-more-fulfilled_2340790.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ea/nicholas-carr-4579_desire_people-were-happier-felt-more-fulfilled_2340790.jpg) > ““People were happier, felt more fulfilled by what they were dong, while they were at work than during their leisure hours. In their free time, they tended to feel bored and anxious. And yet they didn't like to be at work. When they were on the job, they expressed a strong desire to be off the job, and when they were off the job, the last thing they wanted was to go back to work. 'We have,' reported Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevre, 'the paradoxical situation of people having many more positive feelings at work than in leisure, yet saying that they 'wish to be doing something else' when they are at work, not when they are in leisure.' We're terrible, the experiment revealed, at anticipating which activities will satisfy us and which will leave us discontented. Even when we're in the midst of doing something, we don't seem able to judge its psychic consequences accurately. Those are symptoms of a more general affliction, on which psychologists have bestowed the poetic name miswanting. We're inclined to desire things we don't like and to like things we don't desire.”” [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often feel more engaged and satisfied during work than in leisure, yet they still crave a change, revealing a mismatch between actual enjoyment and perceived desire. **In simple terms:** Work can feel more fulfilling than free time, but we still want to switch tasks. Key Takeaway Recognize and evaluate true sources of satisfaction. Themes miswanting paradox engagement leisure work Mood conflicted reflective inquisitive Type philosophical psychological observational When to use this quote - career planning - personal development - time management - mindfulness - activity selection Key Concepts psychology flow motivation Questions to Reflect On - What activities truly sustain your energy? - How can you better predict the emotional outcome of a task? A Different Perspective People may misinterpret fleeting interest as long‑term fulfillment, leading to chronic dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Feelings Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-work-3998271/) [Free time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-time/) [Leisure Saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leisure-saying-5663366/) [Positive feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-feelings/) [Strong desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-desire/) [Tended Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tended-feel-5663367/) [Work Leisure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-leisure-379030/) ## Related quotes > [People never explain to you exactly what they think and feel and how their thoughts and feelings work, do they? 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We try to avoid it, and yet we seem to require it for our emotional well-being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-florman/we-all-have-ambivalent-feelings-toward-work-we-try-to-avoid-it-and/) [Samuel Florman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-florman/) > [Most people fill their schedules with work, and leisure only happens when there's time left over. But it's impossible to live a rich and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-morin/most-people-fill-their-schedules-with-work-and-leisure-only-happens/) [Amy Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-morin/) > [I could do whatever I liked to do during the day. I didn't have to work in an office. I could work at home.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kirby/i-could-do-whatever-i-liked-to-do-during-the-day-i-didn-t-have-to/) [Jack Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kirby/) > [One should connect language learning with either work or leisure. And not at the expense of them but to supplement them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-lomb/one-should-connect-language-learning-with-either-work-or-leisure-and/) [Kató Lomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-lomb/) > [Leisure is non-work for the sake of work. Leisure is the time spent recovering from work and in the frenzied but hopeless attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-black/leisure-is-non-work-for-the-sake-of-work-leisure-is-the-time-spent/) [Bob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-black/) > [“...in Aristotle...leisure is a far more noble, spiritual goal than work...leisure is pursued solely for its own sake...: the pleasures of music and poetry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-du-plessix-gray/in-aristotle-leisure-is-a-far-more-noble-spiritual-goal-than-work/) [Francine du Plessix Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-du-plessix-gray/) > [Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/work-and-leisure-are-complementary-parts-of-the-same-living-process/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [I enjoy my work so much that I have to be pulled away from my work into leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/i-enjoy-my-work-so-much-that-i-have-to-be-pulled-away-from-my-work/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [We should abolish 'work.' By that I mean abolishing the distinction between work and leisure, one of the greatest mistakes of the last century,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-zeldin/we-should-abolish-work-by-that-i-mean-abolishing-the-distinction/) [Theodore Zeldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-zeldin/) > [Work is really hard, if its not hard its no longer work, its leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubbly/work-is-really-hard-if-its-not-hard-its-no-longer-work-its-leisure/) [Bubbly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubbly/) > [Even though I didn't win any titles, I have positive feelings about my first season at Manchester United. I have learned a lot, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-de-gea/even-though-i-didn-t-win-any-titles-i-have-positive-feelings-about-my/) [David de Gea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-de-gea/) > [Positive thoughts generate positive feelings and attract positive life experiences. You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/positive-thoughts-generate-positive-feelings-and-attract-positive/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) ## More by Nicholas Carr > [“For the last five centuries, ever since Gutenberg's printing press made book reading a popular pursuit, the linear, literary mind has been at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/for-the-last-five-centuries-ever-since-gutenberg-s-printing-press/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“In programming the World Wide Computer, we will be programming our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/in-programming-the-world-wide-computer-we-will-be-programming-our/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“What we’re experiencing is, in a metaphorical sense, a reversal of the early trajectory of civilization: we are evolving from being cultivators of personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/what-we-re-experiencing-is-in-a-metaphorical-sense-a-reversal-of-the/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [“As long as algorithms determine the distribution of profits, they will also determine what gets published. 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now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“People were happier, felt more fulfilled by what they were dong, while they were at work than during their leisure hours. In their free time, they tended to feel bored and anxious. And yet they didn't like to be at work. When they were on the job, they expressed a strong desire to be off the job, and when they were off the job, the last thing they wanted was to go back to work. 'We have,' reported Csikszentmihalyi and LeFevre, 'the paradoxical situation of people having many more positive feelings at work than in leisure, yet saying that they 'wish to be doing something else' when they are at work, not when they are in leisure.' We're terrible, the experiment revealed, at anticipating which activities will satisfy us and which will leave us discontented. Even when we're in the midst of doing something, we don't seem able to judge its psychic consequences accurately. Those are symptoms of a more general affliction, on which psychologists have bestowed the poetic name miswanting. 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