Rubin also clearly recognizes that when she is happy, her family is also happier. Rubin knows that happier people tend to be more forgiving, helpful and charitable and Rubin believes this can also work in reverse.
She vowed to “fight fair” and go one “date night” with her husband even if that meant staying at home watching a movie together after their children were sleeping. With a bit more energy (and perhaps a bit more muscle) she was able to tackle the rest of the year.įebruary was devoted to remembering to love she wanted to nag to her children and husband less about chores and to be less dependent on receiving praise for everything she does for her family. She also devotes five minutes each night to tidying which helps to wake up to a cleaner house in the morning. This decluttering made her morning selection for clothing easier each day, and she claims she feels better because all of her options are her favorite options. Rubin cleaned out her closet, eliminating for example 2 of the five pairs of black pants she knows she will never wear. She also decided to reduce clutter, which often simplifies people’s daily choices. Rubin tried to increase her energy by buying a pedometer to encourage her to walk and exercise a bit more, she also joined a gym focused on strength training, and despite her initial hesitation, she found that she enjoyed the workouts. January’s goal was to boost energy, Rubin’s explains that if she does not have energy, she will not have the ability she will need to maintain her projects throughout the year. While The Happiness Project is unique to Gretchen and her decisions to the monthly projects she undertakes are rooted in research.
Many researchers have tried to define what it means to be happy, but it in large part remains highly subjective to each individuals experience. An instant challenge to getting started in her project is defining happiness. Rubin selects a different project for each month while trying to maintain each previous months resolution as well. Rubin is careful to indicate that everyone’s happiness project will be different and what works for her may not work for others. Positive psychologist Sonya Lyubomirsky suggests that about 50% of people’s happiness is genetic, and about 10-20 percent is a product of how a person thinks and acts, it is this 10-20% that Gretchen wants to improve in her own life. As she describes the impetus for the project, she explains what while she is certainly not unhappy, she wanted to embark on a year-long project to allow her to appreciate all of the good things in her life better. Gretchen Rubin lives in New York with her husband and two young daughters.
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