Book Review: The Happiness Project

written by Parita 28 Comments

I absolutely love the topic of happiness – reading articles and blog posts about it, discussing it in person with others, practicing tips and techniques I pick up along the way, etc. So when I read an article about The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, I knew I had to read this book. I mean it does have the word happiness in the title!

I started with no expectations at all and came out with a whole lot. In fact, I took notes along the way, so that I could share my lessons learned versus just a synopsis of the book.

But first a very short description…

With humor and humility, Gretchen Rubin set out to create a year long happiness project for herself. But not because she was unhappy. She wanted to see if she could improve her already pretty great life by applying the sage wisdom of philosophers from the past and the modern day research of today.

The book is organized with that year long timeframe in mind, with every chapter being about a particular month and her resolutions for that month. For example, one month (chapter) is dedicated to the relationship between money and happiness, while another is about relationships and marriage.

Before I get into specifics, I want to say that I loved the little experiments she set up for herself every month. They reinforced the fact that little changes/updates can have a huge impact on an individual’s quality of life and his/her happiness factor. And with every experiment, she would reinforce the fact that in order to feel true happiness she had to “be Gretchen.” In other words, in order for the changes to have a real impact on her happiness, she had to be herself at all times.

So here are the things that really stood out to me as I was reading…

The very simple 1 minute rule. If you can do a particular task in 1 minute, don’t postpone it. Get it out of the way. For example, when I get home from work and change out of my work clothes, my instinct is to throw them on the bed. Now, I literally pause and think about how putting them away or throwing them in the hamper takes about 30 seconds, and then I do just that. This was one of my favorite tips – it’s made a huge difference!
A paradox of happiness – “We seek to control ourselves but the unfamiliar and unexpected are important sources of happiness.” Basically, sometimes you just have to let go and take a deep dive into the unknown. This is something I’m getting better at because I’ve realized (in retrospect) that some of the happiest moments in my life have been the ones I never saw coming.
A secret of adulthood – fun for one person does not equal fun for the next. While it’s great to learn from others and take part in new experiences every now and then, do what makes you happy and don’t feel bad about it.
“Be Gretchen” –> “Be Parita”
“The days are long, but the years are shorter.” So so true! And I think many people, including myself, take this for granted. If you want to make a change in your life (any change), the time to do it is now. What are you waiting for!?
It’s easy to be heavy and hard to be light. It’s easy to pick out the negative aspects of a situation, but it’s actually really hard to take a tough situation and put a positive spin on it. It’s easy to be a pessimist and hard to be an optimist. It’s easy to give up but really hard to keep moving forward (sometimes against the odds). Creating happiness for oneself actually takes effort. It requires a certain degree of selflessness, a whole lot of patience, and an enormous amount of inner strength.

And these are just some of the things I jotted down. While everyone’s happiness journey is unique to them, I do think this book has a little something for everyone.

Let me know if you decide to check it out! And Happy Monday!

Have you read The Happiness Project? Thoughts? Any other books I should add to my list?

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