Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Sohrab Ahmari

Quote by Sohrab Ahmari

“I have come to believe that the very modes of life and thinking that strike most people in the West as antiquated or 'limiting' can liberate us, while the Western dream of autonomy and choice without limits is, in fact, a prison; that the quest to define ourselves on our own is a kind of El Dorado, driving to madness the many who seek after it; that for our best, highest selves to soar, other parts of us must be tied down, enclosed, limited, bound.”

Quote by Sohrab Ahmari

Book:The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos
Create image

Work

The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Sohrab Ahmari

Browse famous quotes and profile details for Sohrab Ahmari. more

You May Also Like

“Listening to my tutor tell me the story (of Khalid ibn al-Walid at the Battle of Mu'tah), I was overwhelmed with such pride in my history that I decided in that moment that I wanted to wear a headscarf, as a public marker that I belonged to this people. I wanted it to be so that before people even knew my name, the first thing that they would know about me is that I am a Muslim. I told myself that upon my return to the States, I would wear the headscarf with pride as my outward rebellion against the Islamophobia that had seized me and suffocated me for most of my life. With that decision, I inherited the entire history to which the hijab had been tied, and carried it on my head like an issue for public debate.”

IslamAutonomyMuslimFemale EmpowermentHijabHeadscarf
Book:Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age Story
Create image

“... Nix et al. (1999) showed in experimental studies that whereas task success can produce happiness, only success at autonomously motivated tasks maintained or enhanced vitality. Finally, in new research, Bernstein and Ryan (2001) argued that subjective vitality can be affected by contact with nature.”

MotivationNatureAutonomyVitality
Book:Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification
Create image

“Putting flow-prone kids into high-flow environments means a lot of flow. Arming them with advanced flow-hacking techniques means even more. All this flow makes the activity deeply rewarding, both fulfilling a child’s innate need for autonomy, mastery, and purpose and further increasing their sense of intrinsic motivation. When Tom Schaar says, “I love being with my friends at the skate park — that’s the greatest feeling,” what he’s saying is no one has to force him to practice, the autotelic nature of the activity — the fact that it drives him into flow — is the source code of his motivation.”

LovePurposeFlowMasteryAutonomyRewardFulfillIntrinsicMotiviation
Book:Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work
Create image

“I think most people are just trying to be happy, and that most of their actions, however misguided, are in line with that goal. Most people just want to feel they belong somewhere, want to be loved, and want to feel they're important to someone. If you really examine all the wrongheaded and messed-up things they do, they can most often be traced back to that basic desire. The abusers, the addicted, the cruel and unpleasant, the manipulators --these are just people who started this quest for happiness in the basement of their lives. Someone communicated to them through word or deed that they were undeserving, so they think they have to claw their way there over the backs of others, leaving scars and creating damage. Of course, they only create more misery for themselves and others.”

HappinessLife LessonsSadness
Book:Sliver of Truth
Create image

“As highly sensitive individuals, we simply cannot stand feeling trapped, constricted or smothered in any way. We highly value our freedom and autonomy, making us particularly prone to staying single for long periods of time.”

IntuitionSensitivityAutonomySingleFree SpiritEmpathEmpathsHighly Sensitive People
Book:Awakened Empath: The Ultimate Guide to Emotional, Psychological and Spiritual Healing
Create image