A few weeks back I received my copy of “frienemy of the blog” Gretchen Rubin’s latest book, The Happiness Project. After reading the book sleeve to make sure I didn’t actually have to do a project, I dove in as eventually as I could. What I found was an insightful look into life and a realistic journey of what it must be like to make a concerted effort to be have an overall happier disposition.
(Incidentally, I have no idea what I just said, nor did I initially try to follow Gretchen’s lead. It just seemed really hard.)
But then I got to thinking: “Am I missing out on something if I don’t even try this on my own eventual terms?” Truth be told, I had to answer…maybe.
I hate any kind of maybe – singular or plural.
I’ll get to my own findings over the course of the next year – with my own ideas on what to work on, of course. Watch for those…eventually.
As for Gretchen’s foray into a happier life, I have to say that she puts forth an argument that lends itself to working towards leading a happier life – but tempers it with a real sense of realism in approach. She illustrates that during her own journey that she found herself falling down on occasion and even trying to be happy all the time can cause the exact opposite effect.
She goes through each month by working on a particular aspect of her life – from boosting energy to being more attentive – and she chronicles it with a light and easy touch leading to a brisk (even at nearly 300 pages) and enjoyable read. Since I try not to read, that is quite an accomplishment. However, if there is an audiobook version out there, I’d have been more inclined to “read” that. It’s just how I roll.
For those who don’t know, a “happiness project” is described in this book as an approach to changing one’s life. If you’re looking at making some changes over the course of a year – step by step – I’d give this book a good read. I give it a big thumbs up, not only due to its eventual nature in terms of the length of the project (one year to implement and a lifetime to tweak and maintain) but it lends a helping hand in a way that doesn’t come across as preachy.
The only real criticism: as an Eventualist I’d have used the alternate title based on sheer length. Besides that, this book made me very happy. Mission accomplished. Now it’s time to start mine.
Which I’ll do tomorrow, of course.
