The necessity of solitude

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The necessity of solitude

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We are a social species, as humans, which means, that we can't survive very well without other people. Children, especially, but also, adults. We would be prey to all kinds of other life forms if we live alone, evolution has developed like that. This fear of being alone, which prevails all over the world, is something that has become psychological. In other words, even when we surrounded by all the protection of civilized social life, we still feel like we don't belong, like we are separated from life, when we are alone. This is true and studied from Korea to South America, people are much less happier alone, than when they are with people. Yet, children have to learn to spend time alone if they want to succeed. This is a big conflict in teenage years. The kids, they always want to be with friends, they call each other up. If they don't sit down and practice and learn, they will not going to make it in society. For teenager, especially, it's a tough paradox. Unless they learn to like it, they won't be able to have much of their own to work with. They won't have learned how to do much with it.
TEEN, Social Life, Parenting Teens

View Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD's video on The necessity of solitude...

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Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD

Psychologist & Researcher

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was born in Italy of Hungarian parents. He came to the United States at age 22, became a psychologist, taught at the University of Chicago for 30 years and was Chairman of the Department of Psychology. Since 1999 he has been a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California. Of the 13 books he wrote or co-authored, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience is the best known; it has been translated in 29 languages. He and his wife Isabella spend the summers in Montana, where the rest of the family comes to visit and hike in the mountains.

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