The Happiness Project: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of The Happiness Project, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Happiness can be worked on
Rubin realised she was not as happy as she could be, despite a good life.
She decided to spend a year testing ideas about happiness on herself, treating it as a practical project rather than waiting for it to arrive.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
One theme for each month
Rubin divided the year into twelve themes, such as energy, marriage, work, friendship and money.
Each month she made a few concrete resolutions, keeping earlier ones going as she added new themes.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Write your own personal commandments
She wrote Twelve Personal Commandments to guide herself, the first being to be Gretchen, meaning to accept her own nature rather than copy others.
Rubin encourages readers to write their own rules from their values.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
Track resolutions on a chart
Rubin kept a Resolutions Chart and marked each day whether she kept her resolutions.
Tracking made her goals concrete and kept her honest, turning vague wishes into checkable daily actions.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
Act how you want to feel
Rubin found that behaviour can change feelings.
When she acted more cheerful or loving, she often began to feel that way. Rather than waiting for the right mood, she tried acting first.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
Energy comes from order and sleep
In her first month she focused on energy: going to bed earlier, exercising and clearing clutter.
She found that a tidier home and more rest lifted her mood, making other resolutions easier.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Spend out and buy experiences
Rubin noticed she hoarded things, saving them for a perfect moment that never came.
Her idea of spending out means using and enjoying things now, and spending money in ways that support happiness.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Small changes add up to happiness
Rubin's lessons, which she called Secrets of Adulthood, suggest that happiness comes from many small habits rather than one big change.
Gratitude, kindness and attention to ordinary days made her year happier.
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