The Happiness Project

Let me start but saying that I am in no way trying to get all "preachy" or somehow give the idea that I think I know everything about life. I am basically turning up the volume in my head for those who care to listen-brainstorming out loud if you will.

I am a very fortunate person-I have a loving family, a roof over my head, food to eat and money to make choices about my day to day life. But I go through peaks and valleys and find myself moping about petty things. I consider myself a happy person yet I complain a lot! When these times seem to last over a few hours and I have not been able to shake myself out of them I drive to the book store and head to the "self help" section honing in on those books that mention happiness. 9 times out of 10 I am pretty disappointed in the book overall(see-what a complainer!), gleaning some positive message here and there. About a year ago I picked up a real gem in the happiness department and I find myself drawn back to it again and again. It is titled The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. She is a writer in New York with a husband and two daughters-she considers herself, for the most part, happy like me, probably you and the majority of the population. Her quest is to see if she can increase her happy times and reduce her unhappy times by implementing a quality or technique each month and trying her best to keep up with it for a full month. One month is organization-will organizing her home and space make her feel more happy? Another is exercise etc. I love the book because I relate to what drives her to begin the experiment, I like her voice and the fact that she is not some psychologist telling me to do these things and my life will be better and I like it because it makes me feel like trying these things along with her. So for April I am re-reading The Happiness Project, writing my own list and beginning May 1st I will be conducting my own happiness project and of course blogging about it. Stay tuned.