Monday, April 29, 2013

GIVEAWAY: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin


“It's about living in the moment and appreciating the smallest things. Surrounding yourself with the things that inspire you and letting go of the obsessions that want to take over your mind. It is a daily struggle sometimes and hard work but happiness begins with your own attitude and how you look at the world.” --Gretchen Rubin

The Happiness Project is a memoir of a year in Gretchen Rubin’s life. Gretchen lives with her husband and two daughters in New York City. She loves her family, her job, her life, but she isn’t quite as happy as she should be. She decides to change her attitude by taking steps to help her appreciate life more.

When I finished The Happiness Project I had to resist the urge to buy a plane ticket to New York, locate Gretchen Rubin, and beg her to be my friend. This book changed my life.

It’s not that her book suggests anything earth shattering, but she presents her ideas in such a way that shifted my perspective. I found myself highlighting whole paragraphs, sharing quotes on facebook, calling friends and family to get their take on a philosophy, and giving my own perspective a makeover.  She does insane amounts of research on happiness philosophies, outlines a plan, and sets worthy, reasonable goals that are (mostly) small steps in achieving happiness now.

Along her journey, she discovers her Secrets of Adulthood, many of which I found to be very true, and I try to remember them in my day to day interactions. Here are some that resonated with me:

·         The days are long, but the years are short.
·         It’s okay to ask for help.
·         You can choose what you do; you can’t choose what you LIKE to do.
·         Happiness doesn’t always make you feel happy.
·         What you do EVERY DAY matters more than what you do ONCE IN A WHILE.
·         You don’t have to be good at everything.
·         It’s important to be nice to EVERYONE.
·         You know as much as most people.
·         Eat better, eat less, exercise more.
·         What’s fun for other people may not be fun for you — and vice versa.
·         If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough.
·         No deposit, no return.

Gretchen is very intelligent, yet so down to earth. She keeps the narrative interesting and is an excellent writer. She is honest about her failures and missteps, yet she never gives up saying, “Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail, but every day is a clean slate and a fresh opportunity.” 

I felt happier reading this book. I appreciated my family more and I was happy to serve them. I took some things more seriously, and some things less seriously. I played more. I worked more. 

The theme of this book is basically being happy no matter what your circumstance is in the moment. It’s about accepting yourself, flaws and all, finding the good within your life, and changing your perspective if you fail to do those things. I loved it so much, I want to give YOU a free copy. Enter the giveaway below and start your own happiness project! What made you happy today?



a Rafflecopter giveaway

12 comments:

Heidi Marie said...

Had to get up early early today to start a stressful and busy day. Thanks for Sharing this, I hope just your thought on her book will help me find joy today! Warm sunrays make me happy, and it looks like I'll get those today!

Lin said...

I love that picture of your daughter, Melissa. It exudes happiness!

Torie said...

Today was going to be a repeat of every day last week until I read this blog post. Now I'm going to try to make it great!

Ms. Rosalie's Music Studio said...

Woke up to a comment on Facebook telling me how excited they are to go my shower (: definitely something that I needed right now.

Unknown said...

Can't wait to read this book. Have heard so many good things.

Unknown said...

I loved this book! It definitely changes your perspective on your life. The author just states everything so simply. I caught myself thinking, "I knew that!" so many times. There are so many ideas and experiences that she presents that are so true. Love it!!

Janie said...

I have been meaning to read this for forever!

Faith said...

What makes me happy? Being at peace with the people who surround me...

Sheena said...

This book was so eye opening to me...it really helped me look at ways I can work on my happiness. I would love a hard copy to loan out to friends and family!

Unknown said...

Oh, I can't wait to read this book. My wife has said so many wonderful things about it!

Jo said...

I may need to hunt this book down! Today I'm happy because I'm leaving work early to go up to Women's Conference at BYU with my mom! I'm super excited!

Jane said...

Listening to my six-year-old singing in the shower this morning made me happy! :-) I haven't read this, but I'd love to. Thanks for the fun giveaway!