I’m reading the The Happiness Project
in “preparation” of Mom 2.0. Gretchen Rubin is one of the keynote speakers at the conference and since I didn’t know who she was, although I’d heard of the Happiness Project, I thought I’d read the book before I go.
I’m still reading the book, she breaks it out by month, and I’m only on March. I have a lot of happiness left to read about.
Happiness is one of those things that is so specific to us each individually. What makes me happy, won’t necessarily make you happy. Or you. Or you over there. I’ve spent a lot of my adult life thinking about my happiness and what that means and how to be happy. And it’s not so much that I’m not happy, because I am. But am I as happy as I can be? Am I living up to my happiness potential? I don’t think so.
I think there are a lot of interesting things that Gretchen talks about in the first 100 pages or so in her book. Many of those things being things that I think I’m already kind of working on. (I told Paul that one of the things she says is, “Be nicer to your husband.” And while that’s not exactly what she says, he thought it was awesome!) Things that I want to change or evaluate or focus on that can help make me a happier person. As she says, the happier you are, the happier those around you are. Absolutely.
So, I’m going to finish the book and hear her speak. And maybe I’ll even get to talk to her. Although, that could be more than I can handle at a conference that I’m going to where I will know approximately one person. And then I’m going to spend some time thinking about what I can do to be a happier person. Not just for me but for my family and those around me. I can’t change others (yes Paul, I said that) but I can change me. It’ll be my own little Happiness Project. Without the book, because, well, Gretchen already wrote the book on that.
