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Happiness Project

5 Things I Learned from The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

“The days are long but the years are short”

1. Declutter

I’ve always been a fairly organized person, but I still had the junk in the closets and drawers that I hold on to forever. I literally had participation trophies from the three years I played basketball and NEVER won a game in my basement closet. When I read one of the first tips in the Happiness Project on decluttering, I decided to take her advice: Clean your house and brain because all the clutter wears us down!

  • Dejunk, trash, get rid of and stop holding on to all the things
  • Take things out of your brain and write them down so you don’t have to carry them around
  • Clean out the drawers, closets, and clear the surfaces

I’m happy to report that I spent less time cleaning, more time being productive and LOVE to fall asleep in my clean room every night.

2. You can’t change your partner, you can only change yourself.

Woah, profound. Someone should have told me that 7 years ago. I tried changing my husband so much that first year of marriage. And he tried to change me. Growing up in two completely different households means we have two completely different ways of doing absolutely everything. Neither is wrong, but it takes time to accept that different is okay.

  • Quit the nagging
  • It takes 5 positive interactions to reverse 1 negative interaction
  • Don’t expect praise or appreciation
  • Do random acts of kindness for your partner daily

3. What you do every day matters more than what you do every once in awhile

I decided to put more emphasis on the things you do every day. The things I want to do everyday need to be plan it into my schedule.

4. One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make others happy. One of the best ways to make others happy is to be happy yourself.

Amen. When I am having a crappy day, I serve someone…and I immediately feel better. What I’m trying to work on is being happy (especially at home with just my little family) to boost the mood of everyone else. Happiness is so powerful. This is probably why “happy wife, happy life” is such a common phrase. Moms set the mood of the home.

5. Act the way you want to feel

Easy enough right? Its amazing how consciously choosing my attitude can make a difference in how I genuinely feel. Fake it till you make it totally works.

12 Commandments to Live by

  1. Be [Kylee]
  2. Let it go
  3. Act the way you want to feel
  4. Do it now
  5. Be polite and fair
  6. Enjoy the process
  7. Spend out
  8. Identify the problem
  9. Lighten up
  10. Do what ought to be done
  11. No calculation
  12. There is only love

The Happiness Project Summary

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.

In this lively and compelling account—now updated with new material by the author—Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.

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