Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Quotes

But shortcuts are dangerous; we cannot delude ourselves that our knowledge is further along than it actually is.

We can either help to make this world a more incredible place than it has ever been, or we can hasten its return to inorganic dust.

Try to be surprised by something every day.

Without the capacity to provide its own information, the mind drifts into randomness.

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.

Without respect, the subtle alchemy that binds an organization or that serves as the impetus for a business transaction would dissolve into mutual suspicion and hostility.

Optimal experience is thus something that we make happen.

Discipline is not always internalized and actually can breed resentment among children.

the self expands through acts of self forgetfulness.

Getting control of life is never easy, and sometimes it can be definitely painful.

When a religion or ideology becomes dominant, the lack of controls will result in widening spirals of license leading to degradation and corruption.

In large organizations the dilution of information as it passes up and down the hierarchy, and horizontally across departments, can undermine the effort to focus on common goals.

In knowledge-intensive business settings, where every manager has to oversee massive amounts of information as well as people, facilitating the use of psychic energy becomes a primary concern.

It might be true that it is “quality time” that counts, but after a certain point quantity has a bearing on quality.

But shortcuts are dangerous we cannot delude ourselves that our knowledge is further along than it actually is.

The key to flow is to pursue an activity for its own sake, not for the rewards it brings."--(psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on the state of being he calls "flow")