The subtitle for this book says "Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun," which I think gives a great glimpse into Rubin's fun writing style as well as insight into some of the goals she made. A quick check on goodreads shows this book has more than 28,000 ratings, and I can see why: I loved this book.
he book is arranged by month, with 3-4 goals being set each month that are focused around a specific theme: Boost Energy, Lighten Up, Make Time for Friends, etc. As someone that tends towards an all-or-nothing attitude, I can appreciate the sincerity with which Rubin tracked her progress on goals every single day: what a way to hold your own feet to the fire.
Though I'm not certain I could take on a full-fledged Happiness Project (though you can read about how you can do one at Rubin's website http://happiness-project.com/), I walked away with a number of little ideas for increasing my own happiness. My personal favorite is making computer passwords goals: what a brilliant idea! My computer login is now H@ppiness, as a reminder (at least a dozen times a day) to seek out happiness, even just in the small things.
This book could be overwhelming, read with the wrong attitude, but I was impressed with how personable Rubin was: I was always relieved when she would admit that she had failed at a goal, just because it made her seem more human (twisted logic, I know). I appreciated that she was real, genuine, and acknoweldged that some things weren't as worthwhile as she anticipated or that she just couldn't make herself do them as she'd hoped. I conscientiously chose to not get overwhelmed when I read this, and maybe loved it even more for that reason: for me this is a nightstand book that I come back to for a new idea from time to time about a small change I can make to be a little happier.
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