Mihalyi's Essay: Happiness Revisited

The following is an in depth evaluation of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s essay titled “Happiness Revisited.” Assuming one may avoid the difficult-to pronounce last name, they are faced with a topic rarely discussed by few, but introspectively contemplated by many; happiness. We are indeed troubled with the ideal of keeping the peace and making everybody happy. However, it is most rare to genuinely fulfil the goals set in place therein. Mihaly is a researcher and Psychology Professor at Claremont Graduate University. There he runs the Quality of Life Research Center where he developed the concept of Flow. As He describes it, Flow is the way in which an individual may become fully immersed in an activity resulting in true enjoyment. His essay immediately …show more content…
Csikszentmihalyi used his knowledge of human behaviour and examples of events occurring in the real world to persuade the reader of the definition of happiness as he has learned by his research. Specifically, he describes the concept of Optimal Experience. “It is what the sailor holding a tight course feels when the wind whips through her hair,” (Csikszentmihalyi 609). This is an example of the bright imagery he uses to depict an ideal positive experience by a person doing something they love. Examples such as this are why Csikszentmihalyi was able to achieve his goal in enlightening the …show more content…
This is especially true when considering it short length, comparable to that of this critique. In such a brief manner, he proves himself capable as an intellectual writer. His use of vibrant and colorful examples ties very well into our own lives, making the essay substantially more interesting. Importantly, he demonstrate no aggression or bias of any sort in his phrasing. Lastly, the methods of writing he used were certainly easy for the masses of humanity to follow. As such, the reader is intended to interpret the words on their own based on their personal walk of