A lot of people in the world today are used to working, going on holiday, and having money - but many of them aren't happy. Yet other people seem to be really happy, even if they are poor, or have no job, or are surrounded by problems. Why?

Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, from the University of Chicago, has interviewed thousands of people who have a happy life to find out how they do it. I've been studying happiness for over 30 years,’says Csikszentmihalyi. ‘My interest in the subject came from my own experience as a child during World War II, when I saw many adults destroyed by the terrible events. But there were always a few who kept their courage, helped others, and were able to give a sense of purpose and meaning to their lives. I wanted to find out how a person could build a fulfilling and enjoyable life.

In general, his research showed that people were unhappy doing nothing. The professor stresses that happy people don't waste time, either at work or when they're free. ‘Many people feel that the time they spend at work or at school is wasted. But often their free time is also wasted.’Many people are used to doing passive things - watching television, for example - without using any skills. As a result, life goes past in a series of boring experiences.

Professor Csikszentmihalyi has been studying happiness for more than 30 years.

Professor Csikszentmihalyi thinks that many people use their free time well.

As Csikszentmihalyi stated, watching TV in your free time is a passive thing.

We can experience ‘flow’when we do things that are impossible for us and people in ‘flow’can easily forget what time it is.

Enjoyment and pleasure are the same and they are both positive according to Professor Csikszentmihalyi.