April 6, 2012
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Get Happy
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
“According to current research, in the determination of a person’s level of happiness, genetics accounts for about 50 percent, life circumstances, such as age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, income, health, occupation, and religious affiliation, account for about 10 to 20 percent; and the remainder is a product of how a person thinks and acts.”
So hey–let’s get cracking on this 40% chance of absolute happiness:)
Happy Commandments (I only picked the ones I liked)
1. Be me
2. Let it go
3. Act the way I want to feel
4. Do it now
5. Enjoy the process
6. Spend out
7. Identify the problem
8. Lighten up
9. Talk to strangers
10. Stay in touch
11. Go outside
12. Give thanks
13. Create something that wasn’t there before
14. Make footprints “I was here.”
15. Be silly. Be light
16. Be the kind of woman I want my daughters to be
17. Soak it in
18. This too shall pass
19. Expect a miracle
20. What do I really, really want?
21. What would I do if I weren’t scared?
22. Be specific about my needs
23. Only connect
Secrets of Adulthood
1. People don’t notice your mistakes as much as you think
2. It’s ok to ask for help
3. Most decision don’t require extensive research
4. Do good, feel good
5. It’s important to be nice to everyone
6. Bring a sweater
7. By doing a little bit each day, you can get a lot accomplished
8. Soap and water remove most stains
9. Turning the computer on and off a few times often fixes a glitch
10. If you can’t find something, clean up
11. You can choose what you do you can’t choose what you like to do
12. Happiness doesn’t always make you feel happy
13. What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while
14. You don’t have to be good at everything
15. If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough
16. Over-the-counter medicines are very effective
17. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good
18. What’s fun for other people might not be fun for you—and visa versa
19. You can’t profoundly change your children’s natures by nagging them or signing them up for classes
20. No deposit, no return
“A study suggested that getting one extra hour of sleep each night would do more for a person’s daily happiness than getting a $60,000 raise.” (PROOF that I am on the right track)
“One of the great joys of falling in love is the feeling that the most extraordinary person in the entire world has chosen you”
“Happiness has four stages. To eke out the most happiness from an experience, we must ANTICIPATE it, SAVOR it as it unfolds, EXPRESS happiness, and RECALL a happy memory.”
“I can do anything I want—but I can’t do everything I want”
“When one loves, one does not calculate” –Saint Therese of Lisieux
“What do you think about while you are sitting on the toilet? Because that’s what you *want* to think about.”
“She always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day.” –Virginia Woolf
“Even if I didn’t do a perfect job with my resolutions, I did do better, and the more I kept my resolutions, the happier I was.”
Splendid Truths
1. To be happy, I need to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth
2. One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.
3. The days are long, but the years are short
4. You’re not happy unless you think you’re happy
5. Your body matters
6. Happiness is other people
7. Think about yourself so you can forget yourself
8. Happiness comes not from having more, not from having less, but from wanting what you have
True Rules: (check out WHAT unwritten “rules” you make up and follow in your life, and then examine WHY)
1. My children are my most important priority
2. Get some exercise every day
3. My husband is my top priority, in matters big or small
4. YES comes right away; NO never comes
5. Get some work done every day
6. Whenever possible, choose vegetables
7. I know as much as most people
8. I’m in a hurry (need to change this one)
9. My parents are almost always right
10. If I’m not sure whether to include some text, cut it out
11. The things that go wrong often make the best memories
12. Always say hello
13. Choose the bigger life
Comments (5)
Fascinating, I have to try some of these! Good tips.
It’s definitely healthy to assess what makes us happy, why we do what we do, what we can do to live more joyful lives day to day. Thank you for the list!
@dreamerbreeze4 - no problem! it is definately a good book to read:)
@GreekPhysique - oh snap Greek! while all of your posts are amazing, and i enjoy reading them very very much, there was one of them recently that was especially fantastic. i saved it, copied and pasted and told myself you were going to get your well deserved praise for writing it since i felt such a kinship with the words. but, alas, it has disappeared. bleh. and i am headed out of town. bleh. so…i promise, if you get Brazil-a-ways, we can have a nice discussion about it. otherwise, just know i am a fan:).
What is the book called and who is it by? I’m glad you came across a good book