Book Titles

Whether it’s money, grades, promotions, popularity, attention, or just plain material things we want, scientists agree: seeking out external rewards is a sure path to sabotaging our own happiness.

…when we set out to make our own happiness, we’re focused on activity that generates intrinsic rewards – the positive emotions, personal strengths, and social connections that we build…

We do autotelic work because it engages us completely, and because intense engagement is the most pleasurable, satisfying, and meaningful emotional state we can experience.

As long as we are regularly immersed in self-rewarding hard work, we will be happy more often than not – no matter what else is going on in our lives.

If we let our desire for more and more extrinsic rewards monopolize our time and attention, it prevent sus from engaging in autotelic activities that would actually increase our happiness.

As long as we’re focused on intrinsic and not extrinsic reward, we never run out of the raw materials for making our own happiness.

Compared with games, reality is unproductive. Games give us clearer missions and more satisfying, hands-on work.

When a clear goal is attached to a specific task… it gives us an energizing push, a sense of purpose.

…to be truly satisfied, we have to be able to finish our work as clearly as we started it.

To finish work in a satisfying way, we m just be able to see the results of our efforts as directly, immediately, and vividly as possible.