Finding flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Quotes V

-I don't think I ever sat down and ask myself, now what am I going to do in life? I just went ahead doing what I liked to do.
-It is not the external conditions that determine how much work will contribute to the excellence of one's life. It is how one works and what experiences one is able to derive from confronting its challenges.
-What accomplishments in life they were most proud of. I suppose it is just to have raised six kids, and brought them up.
-The best investment he ever made was the year he took off from his successful career to spend with his children as they were growing up.
-Having leisure does not improve the quality of life unless one knows how to use it effectively.
-Physical health is better when a person focuses on a goal. On weekends, when alone, and with nothing to do, people report more symptoms of illness.
-Without necessarily being aware of it. one will seek out stimulation that will screen out the sources of anxiety from consciousness.This might be watching TV, or reading redundant narratives, such as romances or mysteries. These are quick ways to reduce chaos in consciousness in the short run, but usually the only residue they leave behind is a feeling of listless dissatisfaction.
-Few people have learned to structure their psychic energy autonomously, from the inside.
-Human beings feel best in flow, when they are fully involved in meeting a challenge, solving a problem, discovering something new.
-Free time with nothing specific to engage one's attention provides the opposite of flow: psychic entropy, where one feels listless and apathetic.
-Why would we spend four times more time doing something that has less than half the chance of making us feel good? To get organized for a basketball game takes time: one has to change clothes, make arrangements. Each of the flow-producing activities requires an initial investment of attention before it begins to be enjoyable. One needs such disposable activation energy.
-If a person lacks the discipline to overcome that initial obstacle, he will have to settle for something that, although less enjoyable, is more accessible. This is where passive leisure activities come in.