The Happiness Project

Author:  Gretchen Rubin
Pages:  292
Where to buy:  Amazon
Her blog:  http://www.gretchenrubin.com


Really fun read.  I love how she broke her goals down each month into things that were measurable and fairly easy to attempt.  Each month Gretchen focused on a specific area like marriage, work, parenthood, leisure, and friendship.  Within those areas, she chose a few goals or mantras to help focus her attempts at bringing happiness into her life.

As she planned her resolutions, certain principles kept emerging so she arrived at her personal 12 Commandments.  Number one was to Be Gretchen.  To be who she was and be true to who she is.  I love that.

She also came up with a list of Secrets of Adulthood that were lessons she had gone through and embraced.  Including:
People don't notice your mistakes as much as you think.
Do good, feel good.
Bring a sweater.  (I hear you on that one!)
What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
What's fun for other people may not be fun for you - and vice versa.

The one quote that stuck with me from the book is by G.K.Chesterton.  "It's easy to be heavy; hard to be light."  I love that because it is so true that it's easier to be negative instead of positive.  People enjoy commiserating together and often try to pull others down who have more of a positive outlook. Definitely going to try to be more light than heavy.

Another was "The days are long, but the years are short."  So true.

Here were some of the goals:

January:  Vitality - Boost Energy
- go to sleep earlier
- exercise better
- Toss, restore, reorganize
- Tackle a nagging task
- Act more energetic

March:  Work - Aim Higher
- Launch a blog
- Enjoy the fun of failure
- Ask for help
- Work smart
- Enjoy now

September: Books - Pursue a Passion
- Write a novel
- Make time
- Forget about results
- Master a new technology


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