Everyone’s happiness project is unique, so use this as a guide for getting started. We’ll go through one year of a happiness project, focusing each month on a different aspect of your life and happiness-boosting resolutions you can make. Avoid “getting used to” your life by finding new ways to grow-such as learning a new skill working on something that needs regular maintenance, like a garden striving for a promotion at work and so on. Pursuing growth: When we achieve a goal or get something we want, the happiness of it wears off once we get used to it.

So, you switch jobs and become a writer, which feels right. For example, teaching might feel good as a job because it comes naturally to you, but you may find it unfulfilling.

Feeling right: It’s a bit less common sense that feeling good isn’t the same as feeling right, which is doing what’s right for you.

Feeling good and feeling bad: It’s common sense that happiness depends on doing more of what makes you feel good, and doing less of what makes you feel bad.Going into your project, focus on four concepts: In doing so, you’ll live up to your potential, spend less time dwelling on negativity and setbacks, and boost the happiness of those around you. The quiz is free, and takes about 10 minutes to complete, and answers are confidential.1-Page Summary 1-Page Book Summary of The Happiness ProjectĪuthor Gretchen Rubin spent a year examining how to become happier in her everyday life by making resolutions to improve different areas in small ways each month-a practice she calls a “happiness project.” She explains how you can create your own happiness project, a year-long quest to add more joy and gratitude to your life by enhancing your everyday life in small ways. Just as important, understanding other people’s Tendencies can help us reduce conflict and make significant, lasting change.ĭeveloped by happiness and habit expert Gretchen Rubin, using years of research and observation, the Four Tendencies personality framework answers the question “How do I get myself-and others-to do what I want?” Her book, The Four Tendencies is a New York Times bestseller, and over 3.5 million people have taken her quiz. We can make better decisions, meet deadlines, meet our promises to ourselves, suffer less stress, and engage more deeply with others. Knowing our Tendency can help us approach situations in ways that make us more likely to achieve our aims. Our response to expectations determines our “Tendency”-that is, whether we fit into the category of Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel. We all face two kinds of expectations-outer expectations (meet work deadlines, answer a request from a friend) and inner expectations (keep a New Year’s resolution, start meditating).

The happiness project by gretchen rubin