Chapter 3, Enjoyment and the Quality of Life Summary and Analysis

Csikszentmihalyi believes that there are two main strategies in improving the quality of life. They are: 1. Changing external conditions 2. Changing reactions to those external conditions. One must be able to recognize which of these strategies applies to a particular situation and from that point, there are steps that can be taken to improve the outcome.

There are cases when one is able to change external conditions, although those cases are fewer than the second option, that of changing reactions. One cannot fight against genetics or war. Those things just are. Certainly one can be as proactive as possible to prevent disaster but by and large those issues are out of one's hands.

The second strategy seems to be more common and perhaps more effective in nearly any situation. To...