New York author and former lawyer Gretchen Rubin is riding a city bus when she has a life-changing epiphany. Rubin has everything: the coveted New York apartment, the blossoming career, a happy family and financial freedom. Like many fortunate people who find themselves in similar circumstances, Rubin admits she could still be happier and sets out to find out how.
Fascinated with research and self-help projects, Gretchen Rubin decides to dedicate a year to her own personal happiness project. She begins her account by setting up a resolutions chart across a twelve month span. Rubin makes an effort to always sing in the mornings, learn to laugh at herself, stop gossiping, keep her home clutter-free and to always act the way she wants to feel. Every month new resolutions are introduced in addition to pre-existing goals, eventually adding up to “Boot Camp Perfect” month in December.
The Happiness Project reads similar to a personal blog. Every page is full of information and experiences that Rubin finds helpful in her personal journey towards discovering happiness. Wisdom from famous philosophers to ancient religions on happiness are carefully considered within her quest for a happier disposition. Rubin not only writes about her successes, but also shares her failures, allowing the readers to really experience a front-row seat in her happiness project.
The most important epiphany Rubin encounters in the midst of her happiness project is to be Gretchen. She stresses to her readers that a happiness project is personal and unique to each individual person. In attempting to successfully complete her resolutions chart, Rubin realizes that in order for a person to be happy, they should embark on some soul-searching and explore what makes them happy. Only when a person knows their own self will they be able to identify what makes them happier in life.
The Happiness Project is a delightful and thought-provoking read. Rubin’s fresh spin on New Year’s resolutions is refreshing and surprisingly light-hearted. Readers are guaranteed to learn something not only about happiness and all the philosophies surrounding this popular subject, but also about how to begin their own quest to obtain overall happiness in their daily lives. This is a “must read” for anyone aspiring to change their life without changing their 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,” said Gretch Wilson from The Happiness Project.
For more information on The Happiness Project, visit Gretchen Rubin’s daily blog at www.happiness-project.com.
