This past Christmas, instead of exchanging gifts, my friends and I exchanged books (and cookies)!. Some of us brought more than one to share, so I walked away with two.
I read The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin, first. During our book exchange, this book caught my attention because it’s, in short, about how a woman (a writer like me) spent a year cultivating her happiness. Here’s a quick synopsis, from Amazon:
Gretchen Rubin’s year-long experiment to discover how to create true happiness. Drawing on cutting-edge science, classical philosophy, and real-world examples, Rubin delivers an engaging, eminently relatable chronicle of transformation. This special 10th Anniversary edition features a Conversation with Gretchen Rubin, Happiness Project Stories, a guide to creating your own happiness project, a list of dozens of free resources, and more.
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, 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.
My take:
First, you should know I don’t often read nonfiction. In my copywriting work (writing copy for clients who are life coaches and business owners), I read a LOT of personal development material. So why did I decide to take this one home?
Because I identified with the author. In the beginning of the book, she describes how she realized that her life was truly great – and that she wanted to learn how to truly appreciate all the little moments even more.
Ms. Rubin got vulnerable, sharing some things that made her even more relatable (for example, how she kind of “kept score” with her husband when it came to chores and parenting – wanting things to be “even,” but throughout the course of writing this book, she changed that habit because she realized it was actually diminishing her happiness—and probably her husband’s, too).
Each month for a year, Ms. Rubin focused on a specific topic:
- Boost energy (vitality)
- Remember love (marriage)
- Aim higher (work)
- Lighten up (parenthood)
- Be serious about play (leisure)
- Make time for friends (friendship)
- Buy some happiness (money)
- Contemplate the heavens (eternity)
- Pursue a passion (books)
- Pay attention (mindfulness)
- Keep a contented heart (attitude)
- Boot camp perfect (happiness)
She read tons of books and did tons of research during this year, and in the book, she shares key takeaways about how all this research pertained to her own life – and how it may pertain to the reader’s.
What I enjoyed most about this book was that in it, Ms. Rubin shares advice for discovering and cultivating what makes YOU happy; she acknowledges that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to happiness.
It lays a great foundation for the kind of introspection that can help you get clear on what matters to YOU, how to make the space for more of it in your life, and how to truly enjoy it once you!
Bottom line:
Read it! Ms. Rubin’s writing is relatable and fun to read. I consider myself a fairly happy person, and still, I found some great tips and advice here for dialing in on what I enjoy.