Happiness

I just finished reading "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. I highly recommend it.

I don't usually read a lot of non-fiction, but I was intrigued by the book's upbeat cover and the subtitle: "Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun." On the back cover, the book is labeled "Memoir/Self-Help." The latter category is one that I generally avoid.

But, of course, the more I read it, the more I felt like I needed -- no, wanted -- to do my own happiness project. Like the writer, I don't consider myself unhappy, but I think I could benefit from more happiness from things like trying new things, indulging in things I enjoy, being less judgmental, letting little things go, complaining less, doing good things for others, being more affectionate and playful, and cleaning out my closets.

I also felt like I already have a happiness project under way, though not formally. For instance, a few years ago, I decided that trying to write a novel would make me happier, and I was right.

Now, I have two completed novels (one that I'm almost done editing and another that needs it's first read-through) and I have a couple of others in various unfinished states. I even started this blog as another forum for writing and an outlet to talk about my writing. And I went to the San Diego State University Writers Conference in January and plan to attend again this January.

Of course, I'm still working on keeping my motivation and continuing to write consistently, but I haven't given up either. That's half the battle right there.

Also, the older I get, the more I find myself adhering to my own "splendid truths." For example, I still have to remind myself sometimes, but I know how important it is to revel in the little things -- and I mean the little things that matter. Like reading to my son every night, even when I'm dog-tired and I'd love to pass the job on to my husband. It's a special 20 or 30 minutes that I have with my son every day and I love it.

I'm also learning to let go of little things -- small annoyances, like when the recycling is overflowing and my husband needs to dump it in the larger recycling bin outside. Sometimes I still nag him about it, but sometimes I remember that he's worked hard all day and he's tired too, so it can wait until tomorrow.

Still, I think I'm going to start my own formal happiness project. There are some things that I know I should work on, but I haven't tackled them yet. Like being judgmental. Sometimes I remember that I should just let it go -- it's not my life and everyone does things their own way, whether it works for them or not -- but most of the time I can't help making comments about the odd decisions that other people make in their lives. I think it's because it makes me feel better about my own decisions, because I know that I'm not perfect either. But I also know that things that seem completely logical to me, probably make no sense to other people.

While I'm a little daunted by the task, I'm looking forward to officially getting started on my happiness project.