The Happiness Project; Gretchen Rubin
Whilst this book isn’t specifically intended for or aimed at solving problems with mental health, I’ve found it to be extremely useful and has led to me trialing my own ‘Happiness Project’ or ‘Jen project’ as I’ve called mine.
Gretchen spends the book, month by month over the course of a year seeking to improve different aspects of her life; money, work, love, children, friendships, passions and more. Each aspect she takes in turn and breaks down into smaller key changes to her daily routine or to the way she reacts to situations as she goes through the month. Then at the end of each month she continues with all of the new changes she’s made as well as setting the goals for the next aspect of her life.
The book is incredibly easy, funny, and touching to read with a lot of really good tips and thoughts to reflect on. The main points I’ve picked up from the book are cherishing the little moments that so many of us take for granted and often pass us by as we live in a world of auto pilot. It encourages you to think about how your happiness and your actions affect those people around you; family, friends, children and at work. It also draws attention to how just the smallest of adjustments to your daily routine, or tweaking how you would normally react in a certain situation can really have a big impact.
Gretchen is beautifully eloquent but not in an intimidating way; the book is accessible and enjoyable. A lot of uplifting and enlightening quotes are splashed around the pages; many taken from the many books shes read in the name of research and some fantastic little memorable truths which she has developed on her own quest.
Whilst the book is fantastic -she’s incredibly organised in laying out all of her plans from the start which I struggle to find realistic – things that might be a problem or an issue at the start of the project may actually sort themselves out without any need for specific action, or new issues may have arisen that hadn’t been taken into account. She’s also done her research on the topic, A LOT of research. All of the books she read to help her understand and discover her happiness are listed in the back of the book, which is great for future reference but is a little intimidating and for the average Joe would be an extremely timely thing to go through before embarking on your own project. The book is fantastically engaging and relatable, but there are a few times in the book where I get almost smell a whiff of smugness on the pages, as though she’s a little too proud of her happiness and her wonderful life.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the book. I’ve even written down the things I’ve learnt from it and want to use myself in the back of my ‘Head Journal’.
I think anyone who’s having a tough time with their mental health for whatever reason should read it. She really focuses on the little changes we can make daily that make the big difference, which is certainly something anyone can easily give a go. The book in it’s own way is a course on mindfulness; teaching the reader to let go and live for the moment. You feel a great sense of motivation reading, wanting to get started on your own version of the project. The biggest things that have resonated with me are to take time to develop my passions – something I’ve pushed to the back of my priority list over the past few years, to make an effort with people, be generous with my time as well as my money in order to be rewarded, and to not be so expectant of praise and enthusiasm of others.
This really is a fantastic little book. I’ll certainly be dipping into it for little happiness boosts for many years to come
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