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

What if you could change your life without really changing your life? On the outside, Gretchen Rubin had it all -- a good marriage, healthy children and a successful career -- but she knew something was missing. Determined to end that nagging feeling, she set out on a year-long quest to learn how to better enjoy the life she already had. Each month, Gretchen pursued a different set of resolutions -- go to sleep earlier, tackle a nagging task, bring people together, take time to be silly -- along with dozens of other goals. She read everything from classical philosophy to cutting-edge scientific studies, from Winston Churchill to Oprah, developing her own definition of happiness and a plan for how to achieve it. She kept track of which resolutions worked and which didn’t, sharing her stories and collecting those of others through her blog (created to fulfill one of March’s resolutions). Bit by bit, she began to appreciate and amplify the happiness in her life. The Happiness Project is the engaging, relatable and inspiring result of the author’s twelve-month adventure in becoming a happier person. Written with a wicked sense of humour and sharp insight, Gretchen Rubin’s story will inspire readers to embrace the pleasure in their lives and remind them how to have fun.

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Published Apr 24, 2012

315 pages

Average rating: 6.35

37 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

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hannah8ball
6/10 stars
There were some interesting ideas and some things I'm definitely interested in adding to my life. There was a lot of "studies have shown" w/o any reference to what those actual studies were, which is disappointing. There were a few that I'd be interested in reading up on, but either her conclusions were quite different than that of the main study or those studies were just obscure enough that I was unable to quickly find particular studies on google. Still, this was an easy read and interesting enough to finish.
ednardz19
ednardz19
8/10 stars
I really enjoyed this book - Gretchen has this particular writing style that makes the book connect with its audience. I found that some of her advice is truly encouraging, and while I was reading it, I couldn't get off my head little ideas for my own happiness project. Though, the book prolongs too much, even to the point that it becomes tiresome and boring to read.

Still, I recommend it to anyone who's looking for an unexpected inspiration.
B
BWW
Sounds interesting and relatable.

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