The Happiness Project

“This book made me happy in the first five pages.” —AJ Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible Award-winning author Gretchen Rubin is back with a bang, with The Happiness Project. The author of the bestselling 40 Ways to Look at Winston Churchill has produced a work that is “a cross between the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love.” (Sonya Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want) In the vein of Julie and Julia, The Happiness Project describes one person’s year-long attempt to discover what leads to true contentment. Drawing at once on cutting-edge science, classical philosophy, and real-world applicability, Rubin has written an engaging, eminently relatable chronicle of transformation.

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.

What if you could change your life without really changing your life? On the outside, Gretchen had it all -- a good marriage, healthy children and a successful career -- but she knew something was missing. Determined to end that nagging feeling, Gretchen set out on a year-long quest, her own “happiness project,” to learn how to better enjoy the life she already had. Each month, Gretchen pursued a different set of resolutions: go to sleep earlier, tackle a nagging task, bring people together, take time to be silly, along with dozens of other goals. She read everything from classical philosophy to cutting-edge scientific studies, from Winston Churchill to Oprah, developing her own definition of happiness and a plan for how to achieve it. She kept track of which resolutions worked and which didn’t, sharing her stories and collecting those of others through her blog (created to fulfill one of March’s resolutions). 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 readers to embrace the pleasure in their lives and remind them how to have fun.

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.

In this groundbreaking analysis of personality type, bestselling author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin reveals the one simple question that will transform what you do at home, at work, and in life. During her multibook investigation into understanding 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, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. 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. More than 600,000 people have taken her online quiz, and managers, doctors, teachers, spouses, and parents already use the framework to help people make significant, lasting change. The Four Tendencies hold practical answers if you've ever thought: • People can rely on me, but I can't rely on myself. • How can I help someone to follow good advice? • People say I ask too many questions. • How do I work with someone who refuses to do what I ask—or who keeps telling me what to do? With sharp insight, compelling research, and hilarious examples, The Four Tendencies will help you get happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. It's far easier to succeed when you know what works for you.

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.

From the author of the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers The Happiness Project and Happier at Home comes a book that tackles the question: How do we make good habits that are easy, effortless, and automatic? Habits are the invisible architecture of our lives. Rubin provides an analytical and scientific framework from which to understand these habits--as well as change them for good. Infused with her compelling voice and funny stories, she illustrates the core principles of habit formation with dozens of strategies that she tests out on herself and others. In doing so, she discovers answers to questions such as: • At times, I've picked up a habit overnight, but other times, it's taken years to develop. Why? • Why do some people resist habits, while others adopt them eagerly? • I want to help my child/spouse/colleagues make a change. What can I do? • Why do I resist other people's advice on how to change, even if I think they are right? • How do I make good habits convenient and easy? Rubin provides tools to help readers better understand themselves, and presents a clear, practical menu of strategies so readers can take an individualized approach. She tackles each strategy herself, and in doing so shows us the importance of knowing ourselves, and our own habit-tendencies. Armed with self-knowledge, we can pursue the habits in ways that will truly work for us, not against us. Going to the gym can be as easy, effortless, and automatic as putting on a seatbelt. We can file expense reports, take time for fun, or pass up that piece of carrot cake without having to decide. With foundation of good habits, we can build a life that reflects our values and goals. — Included in Oprah's Super Soul 100 list

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 by Gretchen Rubin | Summary and AnalysisBook Preview: Gretchen Rubin's book begins with the "story behind the story." In "Getting Started," Gretchen shares what sparked the whole idea of a "Happiness Project" to begin with. The idea was rooted in nothing more fateful than a bus ride. It was a typical day and a typical commute when Gretchen caught sight out the bus window of a woman juggling an umbrella, a cell phone, and a child. Not a very extraordinary woman, but someone that Gretchen could see herself in. She was that woman - ordinary, harried, and while not depressed, maybe not the happiest, either.That's when it hit Gretchen - she was happy, but was she happy enough? Was this, an ordinary bus ride with ordinary feelings on an ordinary day really all there was for her in life? She knew she had life good, but could she have it even better?Gretchen decided to find out. A perfectionist and planner, Gretchen got started on her "Happiness Project" by doing some research. She read all the greats - from Plato to Schopenhauer in philosophy; Seligman to Lyubomirsky in religion; Tolstoy to McEwan to even Oprah in literature and pop-culture. She spoke with friends and family and colleagues, all of them a mix of critical and encouraging.This is a summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book This Book Contains: * Summary Of The Entire Book * Chapter By Chapter Breakdown * Analysis Of The Reading Experience Download Your Copy Today