Old Fashioned Book Report: The Happiness Project

I am excited to introduce a recurring feature I will be sharing with you.  The Old-Fashioned Book Report (I tried, and failed, to figure out how to change the composition to look like wide ruled paper, to give it more effect.)  I was the nerd in class who LOVED to be given a new book to read for a book report.  Or, on those really special occasions when we got to pick our own book for the reports, I put a lot of thought into it.  And for the first addition of the Old Fashioned Book Report, I can safely say, I picked a good one!


The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin

The author was sitting on a bus in NYC, watching the world pass by the window and thought to herself, "This is my life - but I never give any thought to it," (page 2).  This realization set Gretchen on a path to focus on her own happiness for one year.  Every month she picked another resolution to work on, and each resolution was broken into steps.  The Resolutions were:

January - Boost Energy
February - Remember Love
March - Aim Higher
April - Lighten Up
May - Be Serious About Play
June - Make Time for Friends
July - Buy Some Happiness
August - Contemplate the Heavens
September - Pursue a Passion
October - Pay Attention
November - Keep a Contented Heart
December - Boot Camp Perfect

Gretchen tracked her progress on a "Resolutions Chart" and give herself constant feedback about how she was doing.  More importantly, however, she wrote and stuck to her "Twelve Commandments": Be Gretchen; Let it go; Act the way I want to feel; Do it now; Be polite and be fair; Enjoy the process; Spend out; Identify the problem; Lighten up; Do what ought to be done; No calculation; There is only love.  Gretchen kept these 12 commandments on the top her mind as she worked on her resolutions.  So, for example, if she thought it would be good to do something but she really didn't want to, she would remember "Be Gretchen" and embrace the fact that she should just be who she is and not try to force herself into a happiness mold.

The reason I love this book so much is because of Gretchen's humanness.  This book is not about a perfect person's journey to great perfection.  Neither is Gretchen depressed, working towards a cure.  Rather, she is just human, recognizing she has only one life to live, and working to making each day count.  Her book is very inspiring and encouraged me to recognize the things that make me happy and to embrace them (restarting this blog is a direct result of reading this book, and I think I can say I am happier when I am writing).

Gretchen Rubin is incredibly smart and a wonderful writer.  She clerked for a Supreme Court Justice before embracing writing, so her experiences are broad.  Her book is peppered with thoughtful, provocative, and well placed quotes from great writers and thinkers.  She shares about her own life and family in very real ways, and I now feel like Gretchen is a friend.

Gretchen has continued her Happiness Project with a blog: www.happiness-project.com
I encourage you to take a look at the website to get a feel for Gretchen, but read her book.  Think seriously about your own happiness.

"After all my research, I found out what I knew all along: I could change my life without changing my life.  When I made the effort to reach out for them, I found that the ruby slippers had been on my feet all along; the bluebird was singing outside my kitchen window," (page 289).

Thus concludes the first addition of the Old Fashioned Book Report.  This will be a regular feature of the blog.  I am working on a great book right now and I can't wait to share it with you all!  Stay tuned!