Beyond 30: Book #34 The Happiness Project

I had received several recommendations to pick up a copy of The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, and finally did so when I had a new audio book credit to use. I'm so glad that I got it, I couldn't stop listening! And it gave me tons of ideas for 2013: Thrive.

Rubin started a year-long project to live a more happy life. As she describes it, she wasn't depressed, or even unhappy. She just wanted to actively seek ways to be happier. Creating a chart of resolutions, she focused on a different area of happiness each month:

January: Vitality
February: Marriage
March: Work
April: Parenthood
May: Leisure
June: Friendship
July: Money
August: Eternity
September: Books
October: Mindfulness
November: Attitude
December: Happiness

Some of her areas to work on totally hit home. The first chapter, which focused on energy, had so many tips that I wanted to implement immediately. She had some great thoughts to share on relationships, both with her husband, her children and her friends. While her chapter on fun didn't really sound that fun to me, one of the key points of the book was that each person's happiness project has to be their own. The first of her personal twelve commandments for the book was "Be Gretchen."

The book has me thinking about what those things are that make me happy, as well as areas of my life in which I could be happier. What would my personal commandments be? What resolutions would I make? Rubin has a web site where folks can get tips, handouts, and other resources to start their own happiness project. Check it out here. I'll be sharing more about my own resolutions down the road. Who doesn't want to be happier?

The book has actually been out awhile, and Rubin has already written a follow up, Happier at Home. Guess what I'll be reading next...