By Amanda
I had heard about this book from several of my colleagues over the past couple of months and after reading The Happiness Project, I can definitely see what all the fuss is about! Author Gretchen Rubin and writes about how she wanted to be happier in her life. She spent a year working on what she calls her dedicated to her happiness project and the result was an intriguing work of how one woman took the steps to achieve greater happiness.
As I was reading this book, the only thing I could think of was “what a huge amount of time this project would take to do!” I don’t know if I would be dedicated enough to keep up with a yearlong project. Maybe this is because I am happy and I usually take to her motto, “do good, feel good.” On the other hand, maybe I would discover some things about myself.
While I might discover new things about myself, there were parts of Gretchen’s project that I have already done and things that I would probably never do.
Things that I’ve already done:
Clear out the clutter. I cannot stand clutter! I go through my house every 3-6 months and trash or donate all kinds of things.
Stop expecting others to do for you like you do for them. I used to get really angry and upset when I would go out of my way to do things for others and get nothing in return. Over the past few years, I’ve come to realize that not only do I do things certain things for others, but I do them for me as well, because it makes me feel good.
Stop nagging. I have been with my boyfriend for almost ten years now and I used to nag at him all the time about everything. It made him angry and I would get irritated because he wasn’t listening to me. Nobody was happy! So I decided to stop nagging and find another way to communicate with him.
Things I wouldn’t do:
Keep journal/ food log. I don’t like keeping a journal for any reason whether it be written or computerized. Maybe a video journal would be more my style.
Sing in the morning. I am so not a morning person so singing is definitely the last thing I want to do first thing in the morning.
Get more sleep. I am a night owl. I love staying up late and watching late night TV. I definitely burn the candle at both ends!
The Happiness Project is no longer just a book, but a movement! There are now global Happiness Project groups where people meet to discuss their own journey to happiness!
Have you ever thought of doing a happiness project? What would it look like?
