The Happiness Project

I'm not sure why I bought this book, I guess I thought that it would make me happier. But then before I even started to read it, I realized that a book can't make a person happy. It can make them laugh and give them ideas on how to improve their life, but in the long run, does it really make you happier? No. And if it does, let me know. I want to read that book.

It occurs to the author one day that while she isn't unhappy, she's not as happy as she could be. So she creates the Happiness Project. Every month for a year she focuses on one subject to improve on. In January it was to Boost Energy, meaning she was going to get all the clutter out of her apartment, exercise more, and go to bed earlier. June was for working on Friendship, remembering her friends birthdays, make new friends.

So was she happier by the time the year was over? She says yes. And she says that her husband and people around her seem happier as well. Act how you want to feel.

The only useful thing that I got out of it was to just be yourself. If there is something that you like, don't be afraid to do it. The author confesses that she likes children's literature, but was always embarrassed to buy books (even the Harry Potter books) because she felt like adults didn't read books for kids. Once she broke out of her shell, she found that lots of adults like books like these and she even started a book club. So, if there is something that you like, don't be shy about it. Unless it's something hurtful, like drugs or doing bad things to kids. In that case, you need help.

Like I said, this book didn't make me happier, but yes, it did make me think about stuff. I always say that I'm not happy with my life. But I kind of realized that I'm not unhappy with my life. Simple changes like exercising and going to bed at a more decent time, and saving my money so I don't feel financially stressed, would actually help a lot. So would working on my leaning tower of books that I keep buying and never read. I figure that if I have more energy, I'd read more. I've kind of been slacking off this year.

Should you read this book? Go for it. Everyone experiences different results, so maybe this is just what you are looking for.