Book Review - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

I have just put down one of the most inspiring yet pragmatic books I have read in a while – and not only do I just have to blog about it, I have already recommended it to a number of my friends. 

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin documents the author's project to lead a happier life. Don't we all want that? Spending more time doing things you love? Being a better partner or parent? Worrying less about the future and dwelling less on the past?

The idea is to simply give thought to your true values – 12 of them to be precise. Then, focus on one of your values each month, building up your steps to living a happier life, whatever that means to you. For example, I had been thinking about ways to “give back” and had been pondering the idea of becoming a mentor for the Aspire Foundation. As soon as I put down the book I ran to my laptop and hit the send button on the draft application that had been sitting in my outbox for weeks. I am now mentoring and feel great about it! This is small step towards my goal to do more for others. Has it made me happier? Absolutely!

The book is packed with practical ideas to motivate you to simply be conscious of the things that make you happy. For example, creating an inspiration board to remind you of what you enjoy.  This reminds me of a theory which Robin Sharma often writes which is creating “flags” in your mind. He says “By writing your desires on a piece of paper, you send a red flag to your subconscious mind that these thoughts are far more important than the remaining 59,999 other ones. Your mind will start to seek out opportunities...”

The more you remind yourself of something, the more likely you are to be drawn to it. That is why this book will be kept on my bookshelf and dipped into again from time to time. Highly recommended!