a lifestyle blog

the happiness project

Since I started reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, I've really started to think more about happiness. We are all in pursuit of it, right? We want to soak up every moment in life with a smile on our face and warmth in our hearts. I don't know one person who doesn't want that. Life is too short to not strive for that.

Yet, happiness isn't as easy to attain as you would think. It seems like a constant chase, like a butterfly and a net. We may finally catch it, but eventually we will have to let it go, it will die, or we will see one that's better. This is the problem. We treat happiness as an object. We see it as a place, an income, a spouse. Really, it's a feeling. Once we change our way of thinking, we realize it's actually not attainable, but something that's within us.

I think happiness can be deflated too easily sometimes. People will say something spiteful, and our bubbles burst. Plans change, and we think the whole day is ruined. Hearts break, jobs are lost, friendships fizzle. Worse, there is death and there is loss. We can't always control what happens around us, but we can control how we feel and our own actions.

It's all about finding the good in every situation, good and bad. Remember that there can be good in every situation, but you have to find it or appreciate it. We can't change our thinking habits overnight, but little by little, every day, we can practice being happy. Truly, genuinely happy. There are opportunities everywhere, even in the menial things. Find happiness in doing laundry or going on your usual Friday night date. Find it in a breakup or even in sorrow. Find it in treating your body well and creating healthy relationships. Remember that happiness is in you. It's just a matter of realizing it and practicing it, until it's a permanent feeling.

The book doesn't tell us that we are unhappy or depressed, it just says that we can be happier. All of her accounts of finding happiness in the little things is so inspiring that I'm starting my own happiness project. I know now that this life is too short to be anything but happy.

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2 comments

  1. asked for this for christmas :) can't wait to read it!

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  2. Loved this piece, you really hit the nail on the head! The line "We treat happiness as an object. We see it as a place, an income, a spouse. Really, it's a feeling" are words that everyone ought to keep in mind - I´ll definitly try to!

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