Many times a parent will respond to the question “What do you want your child to do when they grow up?” with the statement “I just want them to be happy.” What is happiness? Is it the same for everyone? Is it a realistic and respectable goal? These are the questions that Gretchen Rubin tackles in 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. Rubin decided to spend a year researching the concept of happiness and strive to increase her own happiness. Early on she determined that setting measurable goals would be essential. She designed a Resolution Chart to keep record of these goals. Each month she focused on areas of her life that she felt would increase her happiness. Beginning with her energy level, marriage and family, Rubin refined the areas in her life that brought her happiness. She found that as her happiness level increased, so did the levels of those closest to her. As the year continued, she returned again and again to the concept of happiness. She found that happiness can be increased by your actions, but that your attitude was most important. She also found that trying to be happy was a lot of work. She determined that being happy is a daily decision.
I found much about this book that appealed to me. Although I do not anticipate setting up a chart to measure my happiness, there are many elements that I can apply to my life. I need to be more deliberate with my goals and ambitions. At this time in my life I do not have a lot of outside responsibilities. It is easy to spend the day reading or watching tv with a puppy on my lap. As much as I thought I would find happiness doing that very thing, I realize that if that’s all I do it loses some of its appeal. I need to fill my “to do” list each day and mark off each item as I accomplish it. This simple act gives me a sense of fulfillment. I need to push my comfort zone and try new things. I probably won’t have a theme for each month, but I will try manageable projects and look for short term opportunities to help others. But most importantly, I will chose each day to be happy. To get up, get moving, is the very first step.