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
Where to buy 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 books online?
- ISBN13: 9780061583254
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are fleeting,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she chose to dedicate a year to her happiness project.
In this lively and compelling account of that year, Rubin carves out her place alongside the authors of bestselling life tale such as Julie and Julia, The Year of Living Biblically, and Eat, Pray, Like. With humor and insight, she chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from well loved culture about how to be more pleased.
Rubin didn’t have the option to uproot herself, nor did she really want to; as a replacement for she all ears on improving her life as it was. Each month she tackled a new set of resolutions: give proofs of like, question for help, find more fun, keep a gratitude pad, forget about results. She immersed herself in principles set into the world by all manner of experts, from Epicurus to Thoreau to Oprah to Martin Seligman to the Dalai Lama to see what worked for her—and what didn’t.
Her conclusions are sometimes surprising—she finds that money can buy happiness, when spent wisely; that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that “treating” yourself can make you feel worse; that venting terrible feelings doesn’t relieve them; that the very smallest of changes can make the largest difference—and they range from the practical to the profound.
Written with charm and wit, The Happiness Project is illuminating yet entertaining, thought-provoking yet compulsively readable. Gretchen Rubin’s passion for her theme jumps off the page, and reading just a few chapters of this book will inspire you to start your own happiness project.
Buy Cheap 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 Online
Related posts:
- Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing
- One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Closets to Your Finances, the Week-by-Week Guide to Getting Completely Organized for Good
- Married by Morning
- Spent: Memoirs of a Shopping Addict
- Freakin’ Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else

The Happiness Project is a delightful book written by the only women I trust when it comes to happiness, Gretchen Rubin. I’ve read her blog for a while, so it only made sense to buy the book. She’s inspired many people, especially during this horrible economy, to become more pleased. The conclusions and thoughts she makes in the books have changed my mind about relationships and money. If you’re miserable or if you want to be a more pleased person, then you must read this book.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
I didnt even get to end reading this book and i was raving about this book so much. That my Father his wife, and my roomate questioned to borrow it.
I lost myself in this book. im just a small miffed that i didnt even get to end it. I mean how could I tell my Father no?
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
Gretchen Rubin knows what it means to be pleased. She has a loving spouse, two gorgeous daughters, and a circle of friends who fill her life. Yet oftentimes she wonders if she truly has it all. Is happiness merely a state of mind? Or perhaps is it just being satisfied with your own particular set of circumstances?
In order to find the answer, Gretchen embarks on a self-imposed journey to learn what makes herself and others feel fulfilled in life. With just one year to perfect this study, she starts by defining her own twelve commandments to guide her through the project. With simple acts such as being herself and learning to let go, Gretchen takes flight on an adventure that will ultimately change her life.
As truths start to emerge, Gretchen makes a list of secrets of adulthood that all too regularly we choose to snub. Realizing it’s okay to question for help, and that you don’t permanently have to be excellent at everything, enables the happiness project to take shape. Setting goals for each month keeps her on the path towards learning the essential source of happiness in everyday life.
What Gretchen comes to find is that the simplest things in life regularly lead to the most contentment. Taking a step back to savor the sweetness in her marriage as well as delighting in the unexpected joy of finding new friends, she takes note of the essential pieces of her harmonious life. As the year comes to an end, she relishes the fact that she learned what she knew all along…she truly is pleased.
THE HAPPINESS PROJECT is the quintessential guide for anyone in need of finding the right balance in life. From helpful tips to encouraging words, Gretchen Rubin has truly establish the yellow brick road to happiness.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
I like “The Happiness Project.” I have followed Gretchen’s blog for a few years and, while both are fantastic, for me the book gives the whole arc of what she’s tried to accomplish, which is: to systematically make oneself more pleased.
What really works for me about this book is that it (1) is filled with thoughts, theories and evidence-based practices about happiness, fulfillment and related topics; which are (2) introduced in the context of a name really trying to use them in her life, with her own reflections on what works and doesn’t; and (3) it’s in the voice of a real person. Not you, or me, but an authentic real person, nonetheless. So the book is very entertaining. Gretchen has a real gift for taking things that take place in your own life, explaining theories from science, religion, psychology and elsewhere that might have impact on them, and then adding the personal factor of what is hard or simple for her.
I reflect that my personal favorite thing about the book is that it is EARNEST. In additional words, there is no snarkiness, no fake comparisons, no trying to cut people down for effect, no writing off additional people’s experiences. And yet there is no sappiness, weak thinking or cultish kinds of principles. I reflect Gretchen is very courageous for just being earnest and honest. Any casual look on blogs reveals that there are a lot of people who are more interested in cutting thoughts down than offering thoughtful suggestions. “The Happiness Project,” both book and blog, are aimed at people who sincerely, honestly are trying to make their life better. (And just because it’s earnest, doesn’t mean it’s not really amusing. It is!)
If you are a thoughtful person interested in a thoughtful, practical book that is also a fun read, you can’t go incorrect with this one.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
When I ongoing reading The Happiness Project, I made it to page 50, then chose I needed to start over–this time with a pen in hand, so I could make notes in the margin and underline passages. I’m a compulsive list-maker and have spreadsheets for just about everything in my life, so the thought of outlining and making a happiness project really resonated with me. I also establish so many similarities between Rubin’s motivations about seeking happiness and my own.
Rubin chose 12 areas of focus to coincide with the 12 months of the year for her personal happiness project: Energy, Marriage, Work, Parenthood, Leisure, Friendship, Money, Eternity, Passion, Mindfulness, Attitude, and Happiness. Within each month’s chapter, she experiments with various tasks proposed to increase her happiness in that aspect of her life. The book is a perfect primer to walk readers step-by-step through making their own happiness projects.
The book is peppered with appealing research tidbits gleaned from Rubin’s wide reading of happiness theories. She also shares significant comments from readers of her blog. Both enhance the book by showing happiness (and the pursuit of it) is a universal concept–we all want it and it’s been that way for centuries.
I highly recommend The Happiness Project for anyone who wants to increase her happiness or find it for the first time. Read this book, and Rubin will be right beside you for the adventure.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5