Only direct control of experience, the ability to derive moment-by-moment enjoyment from everything we do, can overcome the obstacles to fulfillment.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiThe task is to learn how to enjoy everyday life without diminishing other people's chances to enjoy theirs.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiDiscipline is not always internalized and actually can breed resentment among children.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiFlow is the process of achieving happiness through control over one's inner life. The optimal state of inner experience is order in consciousness. This happens when we focus our attention (psychic energy) on realistic goals and when our skills match the challenges we face.
Mihaly CsikszentmihalyiThe solution is to gradually become free of societal rewards and learn how to substitute for them rewards that are under one's own powers. This is not to say that we should abandon every goal endorsed by society; rather, it means that, in addition to or instead of the goals others use to bribe us with, we develop a set of our own.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi