April 2010 Newsletter
Online Issue # 24

Good Books

The Happiness Project:
Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to....
by Gretchen Rubin
Harper, 2009
hardcover, $25.99

“During my study of happiness, I noticed something that surprised me: I often learn more from one person's highly idiosyncratic experiences than I do from sources that detail universal principles or cite up-to-date studies. I find greater value in what specific individuals tell me worked for them than in any other kind of argument—and that's true even when we seem to have nothing in common.”

—Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin didn't spend a whole year working on her happiness project because she was so unhappy; she wasn't. As she tells it, riding the bus one morning she realized—time was slipping by. Aside from knowing that she wanted to be happy, Rubin hadn't given much thought to what made her happy or how she might be happier. This was the beginning of her happiness project, a year spent “test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happy.” Rubin experiments with hundreds of ideas, and begins a blog that leads to a book. And she becomes happier.

Rubin makes it clear that everyone's happiness project will be different. In her book she allows readers to see how she sets up her project and what happens. “I made up my mind on a Tuesday morning, and by Wednesday afternoon, I had a stack of library books teetering on the edge of my desk.... I couldn't just jump into this happiness project. I had a lot to learn before I was ready for my year to begin.” 

This passion for books, reading, ideas, truth, learning, and writing is what makes The Happiness Project such an exciting and inspiring resource. Rubin tests out ideas for herself, candidly recounts what happens, and summarizes her thoughts about what worked, what didn't, and why. I appreciated her openness to trying out worthy ideas that didn't particularly appeal to her, as well as her willingness to say up front that she wasn't going to do or continue some things (therapy and the daily gratitude journal).

Inspired by Benjamin Franklin's use of a Virtues Chart for daily scoring his own progress, Rubin creates her version of a Resolutions Chart. This allows her to focus daily on how well, or not so well, she's doing with the resolutions of the month, and as time goes by, all the months preceding.

The book is divided into twelve chapters, one for each month, each devoted to a topic Rubin wanted to work on in her life. The year begins with Energy and ends with Happiness. In between, you'll find familiar topics like Friends, Money, and Work, as well as a few novel ones Eternity, Passion (Books), and Attitude. Each month Rubin identified the resolutions she wanted to focus on. These resolutions are specific and measurable, so that she can evaluate her progress or lack of progress. “Be a better friend” is vague and more difficult to evaluate than “Remember birthdays,” “Show up,” and “Don't gossip.”

Rubin obviously loves to do in-depth research. For her happiness project she read things I would probably never read myself—finding them too scholarly or too academic—but I enjoyed her reports of what she discovered and how she applied it to her own happiness project. For me, the most compelling aspect of the book was discovering what happened when Rubin tried to keep her resolutions. She is a gifted writer—honest, smart, witty, entertaining—the sort of person you want for a friend because she is trying to “Be Gretchen,” even as she tries to change her life. Mostly, I enjoyed the matter-of-fact accounts of how a resolution played out on an ordinary day. It was the clarity of Rubin's insights that made this book a page turner. I witnessed her becoming happier in small but real ways. From her I learned that becoming happy is an impossibly difficult goal, but becoming happier is a challenge worth pursuing.

Subscribing to the Happiness Project blog reminded me of happiness every time I received an email, even if I didn't take time to read it. These regular “Happiness” reminders were making me happier; I guess I was paying more attention to happiness and experienced more happiness in return. This qualifies as an example of you get more of what you focus on.

Since I subscribed to the blog and had read hundreds of Rubin's entires, I wondered how similar the Happiness Project book would be, and whether I'd be interested in reading it. As I thought about this last fall, I realized I had become a loyal follower and fan of Rubin and her about-to-be published book. So, when The Happiness Project book came out last December, I wanted it to be a success, which it is—making it to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List, and I wanted to do my part. I bought the book, read it and I love it. 

This is one book you don't want to miss, even if you are already happy, and especially if you aren't. Understanding what makes you happy and discovering what makes you happier is crucial information, since all lives inevitably have their ups and downs.

Visit the Happiness Project blog www.Happiness-Project.com to find:

Gretchen's Twelve Commandments, Four Noble Truths, and Secrets of Adulthood
Happiness Quotations
Tips to try
Resolutions to inspire 
Interviews with valuable insights
Archive of Gretchen's blog entries
Sample chapters from the book

Also, check out the related web site www.HappinessProjectToolbox.com to begin your own project.

go to the next newsletter page >>