The Happiness Project

Summary:

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.

In this lively and compelling account—now updated with new material by the author—Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

This book was an absolute delight.  I was expecting a bit of a dry read considering the structure and the setup, but Rubin makes the book so easy to consume.  She does not pretend to be someone that she’s not and that makes it incredibly relatable.  I loved her discussion of how she wished she liked more impressive things like opera or theater, but she loves reading and pop songs.  It is too easy to get caught up on what you think you “should” be doing rather than doing what you genuinely enjoy doing. 

The other aspect of the read that makes it very enjoyable was that Rubin provides practical structures to how you can incorporate some of her research into your daily life.  While I don’t know if I’ll be taking on a full year challenge as she did, with the ambiguity going on in the world, I think we could all use some pick-me-up reminders!

Rating: 5 stars!

Who should read it? Anyone looking to infuse a little more happiness into their life.