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To be creative, a person has to internalize the entire system that makes creativity possible. Creative individuals are remarkable for their ability to adapt to almost any situation and to make do with whatever is at hand to reach their goals.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Creativity involves understanding and adapting to various systems and circumstances.

The quote by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi emphasizes that true creativity requires an in-depth understanding of the systems and environments that foster it. Creative individuals possess a unique ability to adapt and utilize the resources available to them in order to achieve their goals, showcasing their resourcefulness and imaginative thinking.

Themes

CreativityAdaptabilityResourcefulnessSystemGoals

In practice

Example use cases

This quote is perfect to share in a workshop focused on creative problem-solving.

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The germ of an idea doesn't make the sculpture that stands up... so the next stage is hard work
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It is not the skills we actually have that determine how we feel but the ones we think we have.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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