---
product_id: 9851575
title: "The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun Hardcover – December 29, 2009"
brand: "gretchen rubin"
price: "€ 9.54"
currency: EUR
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 9
url: https://www.desertcart.sk/products/9851575-the-happiness-project-or-why-i-spent-a-year-trying
store_origin: SK
region: Slovakia
---

# The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun Hardcover – December 29, 2009

**Brand:** gretchen rubin
**Price:** € 9.54
**Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun Hardcover – December 29, 2009 by gretchen rubin
- **How much does it cost?** € 9.54 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Currently out of stock
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sk](https://www.desertcart.sk/products/9851575-the-happiness-project-or-why-i-spent-a-year-trying)

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- gretchen rubin enthusiasts

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## Description

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    First book I read to the end in four years.
  

*by T***T on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 22, 2023*

Gretchen came up with a framework of how she intended to improve her happiness by 20%, tried implementing, then dropped , adapted or replaced her resolution. This proved her genuine experience. I especially liked her examples of a concept and research into phenomena.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    I really identified with her findings
  

*by A***E on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 15, 2013*

Yes, I'm four years behind on finding this book, but I'm so glad that I finally caught up!I don't think this book needs a synopsis at this point - at 780 reviews and counting, it's been done.  I'll just cover what I enjoyed about it.I think what makes Rubin's writing so appealing is that she admits that she isn't perfect; she's not afraid to show her ugly side instead of painting a picture of sunshine and rainbows.  I really identified with her when she spoke about wishing she would like something because others did.  I have often wished I:•Was a morning person•Could be the person who picks out her outfits the night before•Could be the person who picks out her outfits for the week on Sundays and prepared them•Wrapped gifts beautifully•Could drive without ever getting upset with another driver•Save money•Enjoyed volunteering•Cared if my bag matched my shoes•Enjoyed going to see rock bands•Enjoyed making my own smoothies everyday•Enjoyed the raw food dietBut I'm not any of those things.  I have accepted that I will likely always be a night person, that I made the right decision to sell my Vitamix (after only using it a handful of times over 2 years), and that I would rather donate money then have to show up at a place at an assigned time to volunteer.  This is who I am, and that's okay - the world needs me and the world needs the person who is all of the things I'm not.Favorite moments from the book:•What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.•You don't have to be good at everything.•With extrinsic motivation, people act to win external rewards or avoid external punishments; with intrinsic motivation, people act for their own satisfaction.  Studies show that if you reward people for doing an activity, they often stop doing it for fun; being paid turns it into "work."•The repetitive activity of walking, studies who, triggers the body's relaxation response and so helps reduce stress; at the same time, even a quick ten-minute walk provides an immediate energy boost and improves mood - in fact, exercises is an effective way to snap out of a funk.•Also, having few clothing choices made me feel happier.  Although people believe they like to have lots of choice, in fact, having too many choices can be discouraging.  Instead of making people feel more satisfied, a wide range of options can paralyze them.•I'd been self-righteously telling myself that I did certain chores or made certain efforts "for Jamie" or "for the team."  Though this sounded generous, it led to a bad result, because I sulked when Jamie didn't appreciate my efforts.  Instead, I started to tell myself, "I'm doing this for myself.  This is what I want."•Perhaps because men have this low standard for what qualifies as intimacy, both men and women find relationships with women to be more enjoyable than those with men. In fact, for both men and women, the most reliable predictor of not being lonely is the amount of contact with women.  Time spent with men doesn't make a difference.•Learning that men and women both turn to women for understanding showed me that Jamie wasn't ignoring me out of lack of interest or affection; he just wasn't good at giving that kind of support.•I've never forgotten something I read in college, by Pierre Reverdy:  "There is no love; there are only proofs of love."  Whatever love I might feel in my heart, others will see only my actions.•"Feeling right" is about living the life that's right for you - in occupation, location, marital status, and so on.•When thinking about happiness in marriage, you may have an almost irresistible impulse to focus on your spouse, to emphasize how he or she should change in order to boost your happiness.  But the fact is, you can't change anyone but yourself.•"Between the ages of twenty and forty we are engaged in the process of discovering who we are, which involves learning the difference between accidental limitations which it is our duty to outgrow and the necessary limitations of our nature beyond which we cannot trespass with impunity."  (Auden)•Studies show that people tend to persevere longer with problems they've been told are difficult as opposed to easy.•In fact, researchers reported that out of fifteen daily activities, they found only one during which people were happier alone rather than with other people - and that was praying.•Studies show that because of this psychological phenomenon, people unintentionally transfer to me the traits I ascribe to other people.  So if I tell Jean that Pat is arrogant, unconsciously Jean associates that quality with me...What I say about other people  sticks to me - even when I talk to someone who already knows me.•I'd noticed idly that a lot of people use the term "goal" instead of "resolution," and one day in December, it struck me that the difference was in fact significant.  You hit a goal, you keep a resolution.Needless to say, I identified with a lot of what she wrote.  I loved the book.  Rubin also has a website where you can download examples of her resolution charts.Highly recommend.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Love and hate it
  

*by O***  on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 5, 2021*

I love this book, but then I don’t.Like all other reviews: I agree, the book comes from a very privileged standpoint:  The author’s idea of a “catastrophe” consisted of her credit card getting canceled and now she has to re-subscribe to amazon prime (she stated this herself). Yes... I know... ‘first world problems’.Whereas other people have to endure true hardships such as racism, poverty, inequality, this author is complaining about finding the perfect cake for her mother’s birthday.However I was able to look past some of those *cringe-worthy* privilege moments and take bits and pieces from this book to incorporate into my own life.  I think it’s important to think of this book as a blueprint, and you will need to personalize it to fit your own needs. She addresses several important topics involving happiness that I was unaware of before: The “Arrival Fallacy” which is the belief that you will be happier as soon as you reach a certain goal.  I have used this fallacy in my own life on several different occasions: “I know I’ll be happier as soon as I graduate/ get married/have kids”.She also summarizes several happiness research studies that were very insightful. She explained that researched showed, when it comes to determining ones’ happiness, roughly 50% is genetic makeup, life circumstances (such as sex,race, income, health) account for about 10%, and then other 40% is a product of how a person thinks and acts. This gave me hope.Again, i think you will  enjoy this book if you look at it as an blueprint, but not the official foundation to what will work in your life.

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*Product available on Desertcart Slovakia*
*Store origin: SK*
*Last updated: 2026-02-06*