on the road to happiness

so my tiny book club finished book number two. the happiness project by gretchen rubin.
i enjoyed it. i thought it had a lot of good insight and would recommend it to anyone looking to boost their own happiness. because, no matter how happy you are--couldn't we all stand for a bit more!


i pulled out a few of my favorite points she made through the book.


c/o weheartit

 on starting the project:
i didn't want to wait for a crisis to remake my life.


on organization:
tackle a nagging task...unfinished tasks were draining my energy and making me feel guilty.
(this was a huge help for me. i organized and decluttered my apartment/life and was instantly happier. now, i spend 20 minutes each night putting my space back in order, and 1 lunch break/week running errands and it has been a huge happiness booster!)
on marriage (i took these to other areas of my life-and felt like they were applicable to most):
love is a funny thing. i'd donate a kidney to jamie without a moment's hesitation, but i was intensely annoyed if he asked me to make a special stop at the drugstore to pick up shaving cream.


don't expect praise or appreciation...'you have to do (that kind of) work for yourself. if you do it for other people, you end up wanting them to acknowledge it and to be grateful and to give you credit. if you do it for yourself, you don't expect other people to react in a particular way.'


on aiming higher:
enjoy now.


on parenting:
**this section had great insights for parents. several times i thought to myself you need to reread this when you have kids. so, if you're a parent. grab a copy, if only for this chapter.


on gossip:
i learned another reason not to say critical things about other people: spontaneous trait transference. studies show that because of this psychological phenomenon, people unintentionally transfer to me the traits I ascribe to other people.


(i'm not sure how true i believe this is across the board. i think it would be absolutely true with people you didn't know very well. but, i talked to my friend chel about this and we decided that because we know each other so well, it doesn't work with us so much.)


make three new friends.
(i'm an expert at this. and i think so important for people. go out by yourself somewhere and make a friend. seriously. i dare you.)
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here we are folks-the meat and potatoes!!

on money:
money satisfies basic material needs. its a means to an end. it a way to keep score, win security, exercise generosity, and earn recognition. it can foster mastery or dilettantism. it symbolizes status and success. it buys time--which can be spent on aimless drifting or purposeful action. it creates power in relationships and in the world. it often stands for the things that we feel are lacking: if only we had money, we'd be adventurous or thin or cultured or respected or generous.


indulge in a modest splurge.
(i'm planning to get myself a fancy camera-to reward myself for getting out of debt...23 months and 2 weeks from now)

give something up.
(i'm doing a lot of this these days. so far i've given up, coffee from coffee shops, paid parking (which is killing my feet), my netflix subscription, my 'mfd' online membership, happy hour, manicures, pedicures, food at the grocery store that isn't necessary, and my wine club membership.)

money. it's a good servant but a bad master.


samuel johnson 'abstinence is as easy to me as temperance would be difficult.'

side note: rubin quotes samuel johnson throughout the book and it wasn't until this quote at the end i realized that she in fact was NOT quoting samuel l. jackson. i kept thinking, man, that s.l.j. is much more insightful than i would have thought. yea, you could call me a cursory reader.
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so, you should read it. i thought it was very practical, and thought provoking.

you're better looking when you smile. 
xoxo ashleycolean