Book review: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Ruben

In 2017 I want to read 17 books. To keep you informed how thing go I'll write a small piece of review about the book I finished reading

The Happiness Project

by Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen has a plan for the year to come . She wants to feel happier. Every month she takes a part of her life, which could be happier. All kinds of topics are covered, such as memories, money, household, relationships and friendships, physical exercise and trying new things. She sometimes is very creative in finding new challenges to make her daily life happier and lighter, so she feels better.

I thought it was a great book to read at the beginning of 2017. Just like Gretchen, I prepared my goals in advance and I found a way how to record my progress. I do not know whether this approach will be suitable for me too. What she has handled in January she persevered during the months to follow. That seems pretty tough.

Each chapter covers a month, but sometimes I got the idea that the challenge took more than a month. Nevertheless, for the story it did not really matter.

Although I have scheduled my planning differently, there are similarities. We both love to track our progress and seek tips from others to improve challenges or intentions. From her book, I have taken the idea to open an email address for my children. There I file all the little short movies made with our smartphones and I have already written a letter to both. A fine souvenir for later. So I have made a start with one of my goals for 2017: file memories.

Gretchen Rubin keeps a blog about her happiness project and continues to do so after this and her other books.

See www.gretchenrubin.com. There you can also find links to start your own happiness project and follow her podcasts as well.