THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Sometimes a makeover can be about changing the little things.  That's what I like about Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project.  Unlike the escapist form of self-help literature, Gretchen didn't sell everything and run away for a year.  She found ways to be happy within her existing life.  To do so she read every happiness theory she could get her hands on, from Aristotle to Oprah, and gave an amazing number of theories a workout.  In the end, she found some universal truths (having friends makes you happier), individual revelations (what makes me happy might not be what makes you happy) and debunked some happiness myths.  My favorite: "money doesn't make you happy."  Well it does if it allows you to do things you love (travel) and avoid things you hate (cleaning!).

Gretchen suggests a structured approach to creating your own Happiness Project, but that didn't interest me.  Instead my inspiration came more from a New Year's guest post on her blog suggesting  "only make resolutions that will make you happier"-- because you won't keep any other kind.  My resolutions:  See friends more, build blog readership and reach, find at least one class at the gym  I truly enjoy.  And, like Gretchen, get over my aversion to asking for help (more on that in another post).  Hokey as it may sound, doing those things has made me happier.

READ:  The Happiness Project book and blog.  The book takes a more studied approach, while the blog brims with easy tips and items that just make you ... happy. Like the video below. (If it does not appear click here.)