The Best Of The Happiness Project Blog

What if you could change your life--without changing your life? Gretchen had a good marriage, two healthy daughters, and work she loved--but one day, stuck on a city bus, she realized that time was flashing by, and she wasn’t thinking enough about the things that really mattered. “I should have a happiness project,” she decided. She spent the next year test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Each month, she pursued a different set of resolutions: go to sleep earlier, quit nagging, forget about results, or take time to be silly. Bit by bit, she began to appreciate and amplify the happiness that already existed in her life. Written with humour and insight, Gretchen’s story will inspire you to start your own happiness project. Now in a beautiful, expanded edition, Gretchen offers a wealth of new material including happiness paradoxes and practical tips on many daily matters: being a more light-hearted parent, sticking to a fitness routine, getting your sweetheart to do chores without nagging, coping when you forget someone’s name and more.

From the author of BETTER THAN BEFORE > 'A LOT OF US WOULD LIKE A RUBIN IN OUR LIVES' The Times Magazine - 'EXTRAORDINARY' Viv Groskop, The Times Style - 'FASCINATING, PERSUASIVE' Guardian - 'A LIFE-CHANGER' The Pool Did you love The Happiness Project, Happier at Home and Better Than Before? New York Times bestselling author and award-winning podcaster Gretchen Rubin celebrates ten years of blogging with a special commemorative ebook. This collection offers Gretchen's best articles from a decade of studying happiness and habits. From her first day as a blogger to the happiest day of her life, Rubin relives the moments that have helped us understand our habits, improve our relationships, and lead happier lives. Whether you're a longtime fan who has read Gretchen's recent New York Times bestsellers The Happiness Project, Happier at Home and Better Than Before, or a new convert from her wildly popular podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, this funny and poignant compilation will entertain and inspire you in your own pursuit of happiness and good habits.

Peggy Grahame moves to New York State to live with Uncle Enos, and meets several ghosts, who relate to her the history of her uncle's ancestral home.

Tolstoy wrote, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." This is the statement that inspired bestselling author Gretchen Rubin to wonder whether she could foster an even greater happiness in her home. During The Happiness Project, the same questions kept tugging at her. How can I raise happy children? How can I maintain a tender, romantic relationship with my spouse--after fifteen years of marriage? How do I keep my Blackberry from taking over my private life? How can I foster a well-ordered, light-hearted atmosphere in my house, when no one else will lift a finger to cooperate? This book is Gretchen's account of her second journey in pursuit of happiness. Prescriptive, easy-to-follow, and anecdotal, Happier at Home offers readers a way of thinking and being that is positive and life-affirming. With specific examples following the calendar year, an intimate voice, and drawing from science and pop culture, this book will resonate with anyone looking to strengthen the bonds of family.

BLISS LIFESTYLE: CHOOSING JOY OVER FOOD shows you why your previous approaches to weight loss haven't worked and offers a step-by-step method to help you design your ideal life at a healthy weight. People are willing to spend vast amounts of time in researching and implementing a financial plan or a kitchen renovation, but when it comes to a weight loss plan they are only too happy to grab the latest one-size-fits-all scheme that addresses a narrow window of their life (usually diet) and then when it doesn't work, blame themselves and choose another. Through the use of assessment tools, exercises in centering, developing personal awareness, listening to the body and stress management, BLISS LIFESTYLE will help you realize what you need to release or add to the whole of your life. As opposed to a focus of deprivation and blame you will be concentrating on your strengths and your preferences. You will learn to:1. Develop more awareness of what areas of your life need to be changed to optimize health2. Discipline your patterns of diet and exercise3. Identify and deal with stressors that may be triggers to over-eating4. Become more sensitive to your needs and how to take care of them without turning to food5. Balance taking care of loved ones in a way that benefits everyone involved6. Consult your inner-knowing about your choices instead of relying on “expert” advice7. Utilize the ABC model for stress resolution and problem-solving8. Give your anger and pain your caring attention instead of “stuffing” those emotions9. Be less reactive to external influences to your peace of mind10. Become aware of the power of your internal dialogue and use it to your advantage11. Take moments throughout the day to center yourself so that you no longer fall into automatic, unhealthy patterns of behavior12. Soften the harshness of your self-criticism and change to positive reinforcement13. Design and fine-tune a daily Bliss Lifestyle Plan that will allow you to maintain a healthy weight Follow your own unique bliss and you will have an abundant, happy life at a weight that is healthy for you. Why not start now?

Can you go a little faster? Can you run? Long ago, at a time in history that never happened, England was overrun with wolves. But as Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia discover, real danger often lies closer to home. Their new governess, Miss Slighcarp, doesn't seem at all nice. She shuts Bonnie in a cupboard, fires the faithful servants and sends the cousins far away from Willoughby Chase to a place they will never be found. Can Bonnie and Sylvia outwit the wicked Miss Slighcarp and her network of criminals, forgers and snitches? BACKSTORY: Find out a few things you didn't know about wolves and learn all about the wonderful world of the author.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Are you an Upholder, a Questioner, an Obliger, or a Rebel? From the author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project comes a groundbreaking analysis of personality type that “will immediately improve every area of your life” (Melissa Urban, co-founder of the Whole30). During her multibook investigation into human nature, Gretchen Rubin realized that by asking the seemingly dry question “How do I respond to expectations?” we gain explosive self-knowledge. She discovered that based on their answer, people fit into Four Tendencies: • Upholders meet outer and inner expectations readily. “Discipline is my freedom.” • Questioners meet inner expectations, but meet outer expectations only if they make sense. “If you convince me why, I’ll comply.” • Obligers (the largest Tendency) meet outer expectations, but struggle to meet inner expectations—therefore, they need outer accountability to meet inner expectations. “You can count on me, and I’m counting on you to count on me.” • Rebels (the smallest group) resist all expectations, outer and inner alike. They do what they choose to do, when they choose to do it, and typically they don’t tell themselves what to do. “You can’t make me, and neither can I.” Our Tendency shapes every aspect of our behavior, so using this framework allows us to make better decisions, meet deadlines, suffer less stress, and engage more effectively. It’s far easier to succeed when you know what works for you. With sharp insight, compelling research, and hilarious examples, The Four Tendencies will help you get happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this lovely, easy-to-use illustrated guide to decluttering, the beloved author of The Happiness Project shows us how to take control of our stuff—and, by extension, our lives. Gretchen Rubin knows firsthand that creating order can make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. But for most of us, a rigid, one-size-fits-all solution doesn't work. When we tailor our approach to suit our own particular challenges and habits, we can find inner calm. With a sense of fun, and a clear idea of what’s realistic for most people, Rubin suggests dozens of manageable tips and tricks for creating a more serene, orderly environment, including: • Never label anything “miscellaneous.” • Ask yourself, “Do I need more than one?” • Don’t aim for minimalism. • Remember: If you can’t retrieve it, you won’t use it. • Stay current with a child’s interests. • Beware the urge to “procrasticlear.” By getting rid of things we don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, we free our minds (and our shelves) for what we truly value.