AUTOTELICS EPISODE 1 : WHO ARE THEY? AND WHY YOU MIGHT BE ONE

                                          

MONEY, RESPECT AND PRESTIGE ARE COMMON MOTIVATORS IN OUR SOCIETY, BUT THERE’S A TYPE OF PERSONALITY OUT THERE THAT ISN’T MOTIVATED BY ANY OF THESE FACTORS.

These people are know as the “Autotelics.” Autotelics see the world entirely differently to most people, and instead of being driven by external forces, autotelics are motivated by the deeper inner rewards of creativity, immersion and “flow” in areas such as art, science and nature. Future goals and external factors are meaningless in comparison.

Autotelism takes its name from two Greek words: “auto” (self) and “telos'” (goal), which is the belief that any action has within itself its own meaning and purpose. The Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi used the term “Autotelic” as part of his Flow Psychology.

Mihaly described the autotelic person as someone who needs few material possessions and little entertainment, comfort, power or fame, because so much of what he or she does is already rewarding. Because such a person experiences flow in work, family life, when interacting with others, eating, and even when alone with nothing to do, they are less dependent on the external rewards that keep others motivated and trapped in dull and meaningless routines. Autotelics are autonomous and independent because they can’t be easily manipulated with threats or rewards. They are more involved with everything around them because they are fully immersed in the current of life.

Autotelics are the Free Spirits of life.

7 CHARACTERISTICS OF BEING AUTOTELIC

Autotelism is the closest way psychology has come to measuring spiritual or mystical experiences.

The state of “flow” that autotelics experience in altered states of consciousness resembles Abraham Maslow’s “Peak Experiences,” but unlike peak experiences which can occur randomly at any important moment through our lives, Autotelism describes a quality that can be constantly cultivated.

Some common experiences Autotelics have include:

Openness to new challenges.
Concentration. Concentration is so intense that the mind can’t think or worry about anything else.
Passionate Persistence, or pursuing the activity/challenge until it is completed.
Loss of Self. Self-consciousness disappears once the state of “flow” is entered so there is no “self” anymore. Time begins to warp and distort.
Intuition and Clarity. You know what needs to be done and how to do it.
Gratification. Actions and experiences themselves are so gratifying that they are done for their own sake, not for some future reward.
Ecstasy. Life feels perfect, whole and complete.