Gretchen Rubin's Blog, page 262

Happiness Is...Reminscing about Terrific Old TV Ads.

I love getting the chance to meet friends from blogland in real life, and on Sunday, I had coffee with Meagan Francis, of The Happiest Mom fame. It's so funny in these situations -- we'd never met before, and I felt like we could've talked all afternoon, it was so much fun.

Among other topics, she told me she'd seen my TV ad, which got us talking about commercials that made us very emotional.

We happily reminisced about the "Homefront" public-service ads that the Church of Jesus Christ of...

"Happiness Is in the Taste, and Not in the Things Themselves..."

"Happiness is in the taste, and not in the things themselves; we are happy from possessing what we like, not from possessing what others like."

This is a more poetic phrasing of a Secret of Adulthood: What's fun for other people may not be fun for you -- and vice versa.

* A thoughtful reader in Denver sent me this great piece by Emily Brendler Shoff, My own personal happiness project

* If you haven't seen the TV ad (yes, TV ad!) for The Happiness Project...

Beware of Fake-Work and Make-Work.

I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now. Each Friday's post will help you think about your own happiness project.

I remind myself that all work isn't created equally. Just because I'm busy doesn't mean that I'm being productive.

I imagine that every kind of work has its fake-work and make-work. For example, as a writer, I remind...

"Naps, Music, Taking Fussy Kids Outside, and Leading an Examined Life."

Happiness Interview: Katie Rosman.

I couldn't wait to read Katie Rosman's book, If You Knew Suzy: A Mother, a Daughter, a Reporter's Notebook, because I remembered reading with great interest her original piece for the Wall Street Journal, Over the Internet, Into My Mom's Heart: Unlocking a parent's passion and the community that sustained her. (Also, we share an editor, which gives you a fellow feeling akin to being from the same hometown!)

After her beloved mother died of cancer, Katie, in...

Quiz: Are YOU the One That Everyone Finds Difficult?

Every Wednesday is Tip Day -- or Quiz Day.

We all see the world through our own eyes, and it can be hard to recognize how our words and actions appear to other people. One of the challenges of being a difficult person is realizing that you're a difficult person. I've known many difficult people who, I suspect, have no idea that others find them difficult!

In his excellent book The No A****** Rule(I'm omitting the title...

Video: Are You an Over-Buyer or an Under-Buyer? (I'm an Under-Buyer.)

For those of you following the 2010 Happiness Project Challenge, to make 2010 a happier year – and even if you haven't officially signed up for the challenge -- this month's focus is Money. The relationship between money and happiness is one of the most complicated and emotionally charged subjects within the larger issue of happiness. I really can't do justice to its complexities in such a short video. (For a more nuanced discussion, read Chapter Seven in the book!)

Last week's resolution...

Unbelievable! My Book Is Being Advertised on TELEVISION!

My happiness-project resolutions include Push myself, Conquer a device, and Aim higher. I remind myself frequently that novelty and challenge bring happiness (they bring frustration, annoyance, and fear, but they bring happiness, too).

A few weeks ago, after I watched a video by Slate ad critic Seth Stevenson, How I Ran an Ad on Fox News, about how it's truly cheap and possible to use Google to advertise on TV, I was dying to try it for The Happiness Project. An ad for a book on TV...

"When You Are Content To Be Simply Yourself...Everybody Will Respect You."

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you."

* I just discovered Penelope Loves Lists -- "inspiration for the unapologetically organized soul." Great stuff!

* If you'd like to start your own happiness project, check out the Happiness Project Toolbox. There, you'll find eight free Tools:
-- Resolutions: record and track your resolutions.
-- Group Resolutions: challenge several people to a group resolution.
-- One-Sentence...

Avoid a Repellent Plotline.

I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too.! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now. Each Friday's post will help you think about your own happiness project.

One of the key tools for a happiness project, I've discovered, is mindfulness. Which is unfortunate, because I'm a very unmindful person. (Take this quiz to find out how mindful you are.) But I see that the more...

"Chicken Wing Partners, the Peacefulness of a Baby Falling Asleep on You...and 1000 Other Things."

From time to time, I post short interviews with interesting people about their insights on happiness. During my study of happiness, I've noticed that I often learn more from one person's highly idiosyncratic experiences than I do from sources that detail universal principles or cite up-to-date studies. I'm much more likely to be convinced to try a piece of advice urged by a specific person who tells me that it worked for him or her, than by any other kind of argument.

I can't remember how I...