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Mihaly Csíkszentmihalyi Quotes

"Only when a person’s skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable, so that one forgets everything else, does the activity become effortless and spontaneous""We cannot deny the facts of nature, but we should certainly try to improve on them""Alone we bear our responsibility to perpetuate this harmonious order, this saving grace of directed consciousness""Flow is the process of achieving happiness through control over one's inner life""The most important step in emancipating oneself from social controls is the ability to find rewards in the events of each moment""The pursuit of a goal brings order""When a person’s entire being is stretched in the effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile, it is impossible for the ordinary problems of life to seem important""It is impossible to accomplish anything without focus""Goals transform a random walk into a chase""One must develop the skills that will enable one to find enjoyment and purpose regardless of external circumstances""The more a job inherently resembles a game—with variety, appropriate and flexible challenges, clear goals, and immediate feedback—the more enjoyable it will be regardless of the worker's level of development""Flow is the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered, and they want to pursue whatever they are doing for its own sake""To overcome the anxieties and depressions of contemporary life, individuals must become independent of the social environment to the degree that they no longer respond exclusively in terms of its rewards and punishments""The task of adulthood is to continue the work of creating order in consciousness""People who learn to control inner experience will be able to determine the quality of their lives""A joyful life is an individual creation that cannot be copied from a recipe""It is by being fully involved with every detail of our lives, whether good or bad, that we find happiness""Happiness is not something that happens""The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times""Control of consciousness determines the quality of life."