Book Review: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Confession: I read this book more than 10 years ago. That being said, it’s one of those books that has stayed with me both in terms of content and concept.
I am drawn to Rubin’s search for meaning in a structured format. I appreciate that she intentionally focused on various aspects of her life, from personal goals like cleaning her closets to working on her marriage and relationship with her kids to finding more joy in life on the regular. And I love that she acknowledges right up front that everyone’s happiness project looks different!
So often we hear others or find ourselves ruminating about just wanting to “be happier” but few of us actually define what “happier” consists of or takes the steps to get there. Rubin presents this experiment in an approachable way, dedicating a full 12 months to her happiness project, focusing each month on a different area of her life with an overarching goal for each month, and specific, related deliverables to tackle within each of those areas each month. For example, her January focus was Boost Energy and the support goals for that were: go to sleep earlier, exercise better, toss/restore/organize, tackle a nagging task and act more energetic. Her other focus areas included marriage, work, parenthood, leisure, friendship, money, eternity, books, mindfulness, attitude and, of course, happiness.
For each month for one year she committed, took action, learned lessons, had some ah-ha moments and became a more well-rounded person, discovering what truly resonated with her and what she could be at peace with leaving behind.
During this process she also accumulated two brilliant lists, one titled Secrets of Adulthood and the other her Twelve Commandments. The Twelve Commandments especially resonated with me because it is similar to a practice I implemented this year with my Word of the Year (more on that coming soon…).
The premise of this book struck a chord with me because I think this happiness project is such a beautiful and accessible way to reach some goals but truthfully I’m more drawn to how she really got to know herself on a deeper level in a truly meaningful and fun way.
Since reading this book so many years ago, I have been tempted to commit to a happiness project of my own. Maybe instead of resolutions we start a happiness project group in 2025? Would you take on a Happiness Project of your own? Why or why not? Email me at hi@hellocoaching.info and let me know.
