Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

"The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times. The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits."

"Creativity is not just the creation of novel objects or ideas. It is the ability to use your mind in novel ways."

"The mind learns through the process of doing what it wants to do. It's hard to learn when you are not doing what you want to do."

"Flow is completely focused motivation. It is a state of concentration so focused that it amounts to absolute absorption in an activity."

"To overcome the anxieties and depressions of our time, we must begin to build a culture based on play, rather than work."

"The ability to take pleasure in play is a characteristic that seems to correlate with intelligence and creativity."

"When we are completely absorbed in something, we enter a state of flow where action and awareness are one."

"Happiness is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person."

"Unless we have cultivated our sensitivity and our ability to enjoy life, we cannot be happy."

"What we enjoy doing is what we'll do better. And what we do better brings us greater satisfaction."

"The self is not something ready made, but something in continuous creation."

"The purpose of life is not happiness; it is purpose itself."

"We create ourselves through the choices we make. Every action is an opportunity to make such a choice."

"Without goals and ambitions, the mind begins to idle away."

"Too often we are locked into habitual patterns and don't realize there are other options available to us."

"Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety, when the challenges are just balanced with the person's capacity to act."

"The tragedy of the modern world is that people have too many choices and not enough time to pursue them."

"We must take seriously the notion that life itself is stakeless. It is not a dress rehearsal."

"Optimal experience is the key to happiness, and it comes when we meet challenges with an equal level of skill."

"If we are to have faith in democracy, we must first understand that it is not a permanent solution."

"The paradox of work is that many people hate their jobs, yet work is what gives structure and meaning to life."

"When challenges and skills are both high, there is intense involvement and satisfaction, but no tension or anxiety."

"A person cannot feel motivated to do something unless they believe it is important and worthwhile."

"Boredom and fear are the stumbling blocks upon which most people trip as they go through life."

"The shape of your life will be determined by choices you make every single day."

"Consciousness, by definition, is always changing and never at rest, much like the reality it represents."

"We should try to adopt the habit of remembering the good things that have happened to us."

"We are dependent on interpretations and assumptions about reality, not on reality itself."

"The quality of life depends not on what happens to you, but the meaning you give to what happens."

"People who enjoy life are not those who just live comfortably and safely; they are those who build meaningful lives."