Book Review: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Rating: 4.0/5
‘The Happiness Project’ discusses a systematic approach to make your life happy. The author presented the book in different stages. Preparation stage includes your identification of things that brings joy and satisfaction to you, and also why and how you develop anger and onus. The second stage, making the resolutions, is the important one which lets you to recognize certain elements that boost your happiness. Finally, ‘keeping your resolution’ depicts a very interesting part.
Gretchen Rubin presented this book as her own experience in changing her life. It is happiness project that reflects the understanding of the author and what she learned during this time span. The book reveals a twelve-month project (and the project is spread throughout a whole year) along with their respective resolutions. Vigour, Marriage (Love), Work, Parenthood, Relaxation, Companionship, Money, Perpetuity, Books, Mindfulness, Attitude, and Contentment are the twelve areas which she addressed in her book. The whole project more or less is concerned with an inspiration for the people to seek their happiness.
Gretchen Rubin ponders herself as a joyful being. She considers her life as a good one. But, her wish is to praise her life more, being thankful and contended what she has. The author herself is a married person. As a wife she does not want to be irritating, and she wants to give concrete confirmations of her love for her husband (Jamie). She does not want to denunciate her husband for silly things. This part, Marriage (or Love) found its place in February as it is considered as a month f love because of the Valentine’s Day.
"Love is a funny thing. I'd donate a kidney to Jamie without a moment's hesitation, but I was intensely annoyed if he asked me to make a special stop at the drugstore to pick up shaving cream." Page 52
Gretchen Rubin describes May as the month of relaxation that focuses on the accomplishments in the leisure time for her own contemplation. She adds that many people in the world remain attached with their work for most part of the day and enjoy less free time. Such attitude produces further distances to reach their happiness. Also, it is always silly to work all the time. According to her, it is not fun.
Similarly, Gretchen Rubin considers June as the month of Friendship. She stress on the bonds that one should develop with his or her friends. She claims that one should spend more certain amount of time with his or her friends, and it can give him or her a sense of satisfaction. The author describes friends as one of the important part of human life.
"I certainly get more satisfaction out of thinking about good deeds I've done for other people than I do from thinking about good deeds that others have done for me. It's a Secret of Adulthood: Do good, feel good." Page 192
I discussed only certain things from the book or otherwise the review would be too much longer. But, the main reason of the book is quite motivational and inspiring to be happier. Since I am not married but still I found many things interested that I can start work on. The book talks about being happy and satisfied by managing one’s own life according to his or her tastes and interests. Besides, the author sings in the morning, read Aristotle, clean her closets, and normally have further fun etcetera boosts her happiness. She wants such aspects to be followed by other people also.
Gretchen Rubin has smoothly fabricated the whole project. The like her writing style, which has done justice to the thoughtful aspects of the valuable content of the book. The content of the book is presented quite fabulously by the author, depicting the real picture of happiness. The whole content is wonderfully woven to establish an expressive attachment with the reader. And as I already mentioned, the book is largely associated with my own image of my life.
This book is immensely inspiring and it is impossible to describe it in such a short assessment. The whole happiness project along with the resolutions provides a reader with an encouragement as to what he or she want to do with his or her life. The author reinforces a reader to grab his or her happiness. The motivational approach implemented by Gretchen Rubin is highly praised and commended. The way she fabricated her motivational happiness project is quite inspiring.
References
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. New York, NY: Harper, 2012. ISBN 978-0-06-158325-4
