The germ of an idea doesn't make the sculpture that stands up... so the next stage is hard work
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiRead
When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creativity allows us to experience life more deeply and fully.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's quote emphasizes that engaging in creative activities can enhance our sense of living more completely compared to other aspects of life. It suggests that creativity brings a unique fulfillment and a deeper connection to our existence, making it an essential part of a meaningful life.
Themes
CreativityFulfillmentLifeEngagementExperience
In practice
Example use cases
During a workshop on creative writing, one might share this quote to inspire participants.
More from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
All quotes βIt is not the skills we actually have that determine how we feel but the ones we think we have.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiRead
To know oneself is the first step toward making flow a part of one's entire life. But just as there is no free lunch in the material economy, nothing comes free in the psychic one. If one is not willing to invest psychic energy in the internal reality of consciousness, and instead squanders it in chasing external rewards, one loses mastery of one's life, and ends up becoming a puppet of circumstances.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiRead
To live means to experience-through doing, feeling, thinking. Experience takes place in time, so time is the ultimate scarce resource we have. Over the years, the content of experience will determine the quality of life. Therefore one of the most essential decisions any of us can make is about how one's time is allocated or invested.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiRead
It is as if evolution has built a safety device in our nervous system that allows us to experience full happiness only when we are living at 100%-when we are fully using the physical and mental equipment we have been given.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiRead
Our jobs determine to a large extent what our lives are like. Is what you do for a living making you ill? Does it keep you from becoming a more fully realized person? Do you feel ashamed of what you have to do at work? All too often, the answer to such questions is yes. Yet it does not have to be like that. Work can be one of the most joyful, most fulfilling aspects of life. Whether it will be or not depends on the actions we collectively take.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiRead
Similar quotes
I have a lot of confidence, but little Self-Esteem. This has given me a tremendous creative spark because it forced me to keep proving myself.
Neil DiamondRead
If I weren't performing, I'd be a beauty editor or a therapist. I love creativity, but I also love to help others. My mother was a hairstylist, and they listen to everyone's problems - like a beauty therapist!
Beyonce KnowlesRead
If you have all the research, all the ground rules, all the directives, all the data - it doesn't mean the ad is written. Then you've got to close the door and write something - that is the moment of truth which we all try to postpone as long as possible.
David OgilvyRead
How working for the wrong motives poisons our creativity and warps our ideas of success and failure.
Ray BradburyRead
It isn't till now, in the American Century, as we have recklessly dubbed it, that tribal pressures toward conformity have been brought to bear so ruthlessly upon men and women seeking to work creatively.
Nelson AlgrenRead
There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish.
Warren G. BennisRead