During the final hearing for my Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Chicago, my advisor, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi pulled me aside and whispered to me: “NEVER use the word heart in a job talk.” My Ph.D. dissertation was on how adults learn in everyday life and I’d mentioned the heart too many times. Mihaly could tell [ Read more … ]
mihaly csikszentmihalyi
We grow when we have access to a more expansive set of possibilities–a larger frame of reference
What inspires growth is having access to a more expansive set of possibilities–a larger frame of reference. We think learning is about knowing, but it’s actually about not knowing. We have to not know in order to learn. Click here to read the full article I co-authored with Mihaly Csikszentmihaly: https://arts.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Csikszentmihalyi-Hermanson-1995_Intrinsic-Motivation-in-Museums.pdf
Check out my new article in Greater Good magazine: 6 ways to break your creative block.
“Creativity is an intelligence. When we respect its needs—for freedom, not knowing, beauty, a big vision, intrinsic motivation, and space—it will flourish.” 1. Creativity needs space, both internal and external – How can you give yourself internal space? If something is on your mind, take care of it before diving into new creative work. – [ Read more … ]
Learning requires a pleasurable environment – my article with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
“It would be difficult to see how a species as dependent on learning as we are could have survived if we didn’t find the process of making sense of our environment pleasurably rewarding.” ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Kim Hermanson ~ From the article “Intrinsic motivation in museums: Why does one want to learn? by [ Read more … ]
Why it’s OK to switch directions.
A creative life is not linear. It has twists and turns. But that doesn’t mean those pieces and experiences don’t come back around. In my twenties, I worked as a computer scientist for two Fortune 500 companies. At the age of 27, I broke my back in a head-on collision on the highway and was [ Read more … ]