Status Updates From The Happiness Project

From how I can see it, November was not so much about being contented as it was about being controlling. Gretchen appears to be quite a control freak with very little empathy - and I still can’t get over the fact that she hosted a party for her MIL “out of the kindness of her heart,” but complained and controlled the entire time. And then wasn’t happy until her husband had given HER a gift. Seriously?

Oh, their wedding was planned so perfectly except - GASP - they’d put an “e” in Hadyn’s name! Imagine being so privileged that that’s the “imperfection” that throws the loveliness of the wedding into focus.

“”Do you feel lucky to be alive?”
“Actually, I feel like I really wish I hadn’t been in a car crash.”
It’s not easy to stay focused on the positive.”

Ya think? People are allowed to feel a bit negative in tough times. Also, for the love! You’re allowed to tell your spouse to do his fair share instead of thinking, “oh, I’ll stop complaining and pestering him because I need to be fake happy!”

Apparently, to Gretchen, “money can help buy happiness” means you’re totally rich enough to do things like pay for someone else’s plane ticket a few times a year. This book reeks of carefully curated “innocent” and naive privilege. You’re well-off and always happy - we get it - but not everyone picking up this book can afford the same things.

I’ve realized that in around 2011-2012 or so I was gifted the one sentence a day journal that Gretchen Rubin released after this book was published. I filled it out although not perfectly for a few years I think. I’ll have to see if I can find it. It will be an interesting insight into the me of high school/college.

So far it’s giving me some things to think about and I may want to start my own version of a happiness project but I feel I’m just not vibing with the author’s personal perspectives