BeInkandescent

COVER STORY: DECEMBER 2014

SING IN THE MORNING. CLEAN YOUR CLOSETS. FIGHT RIGHT. READ ARISTOTLE.

Author Gretchen Rubin Challenges Us to Be Happier in 12 Months

By Hope Katz Gibbs, Publisher
Be Inkandescent

Gretchen Rubin was a young lawyer clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized that what she really wanted to be was a writer.

Since then, she has written several books, including the bestselling “Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill,” and her uber-popular “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.”

Best-selling author Dan Pink said of the book, “This is a rare book that will make you both smile and think—often on the same page.”

We couldn’t agree more, so it was a pleasure to interview Rubin from her home office in New York City and find out about the project she devised that has made strides and changed lives—her own and others’.

Scroll down for our Q&A. Click here to listen to our podcast interview.

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Be Inkandescent: So let’s get down to business! In your book, “The Happiness Project,” you talk about having an epiphany one rainy afternoon on a city bus. Tell us about that moment.

Gretchen Rubin: It was pouring rain, and I was on a city bus that was moving very slowly. I looked out the window and thought, “What do I want in life anyway?” In the rush of life, you rarely take the opportunity to step back and ask yourself big, transcendent questions. And when I did, I thought, “Well, I want to be happy.” I realized I didn’t spend any time thinking about whether I was happy, or if I could be happier.

In a flash I decided I should have a “happier project” —that was the phrase that occurred to me. The next day I went to the library, got a huge stack of books, and started researching happiness. I wanted to know what everybody knows about what can make you happy, or how to make yourself happier, and I wanted to try everything to see if it really works.

At first the project was just going to be for me. I was finishing writing a biography of John F. Kennedy, and happiness research was just something I was doing for fun for myself. But the research is so rich and fascinating that I found myself spending more and more time on it, and finally I thought, “Maybe this should be my next book.” The book asks: Can you make yourself happier? And if so, how can you make yourself happier? It’s really compelling.

Be Inkandescent: In the 12 months that followed, adventures ensued. What inspired your list—from boosting your energy in January, to getting serious about play in May?

Gretchen Rubin: I figured that a year was long enough for real change to happen, and short enough that it felt manageable. Since there are 12 months of the year, I decided to figure out what elements in my life contribute most to my happiness—and focus on some of them each month.

Be Inkandescent: Some of your choices are a little out of the norm.

Gretchen Rubin: That’s right. For example, a lot of people would include adventure in their happiness project. I know that I am not a very adventurous person, so that is not something that would make me happy.

I decided to start my happiness project with energy, because I figured if I had more energy, then everything else that followed would seem easier, which I think is very much the case with all of us. When we are feeling overwhelmed and drained, it is very hard to take the time to do things, even when you know those things are going to make you happier.

I also wanted to focus on different aspects of my life that make me happy—such as my marriage, work, play, and parenthood (I have two daughters). Just figuring out the list was a very helpful intellectual exercise.

Try it. If you were going to pick 12 things in your life that you want to work on, what would they be?

Be Inkandescent: Talk about your desire to be a better parent.

Gretchen Rubin: This was really important to me. I realized that I was losing my temper very quickly; apparently I make a terrifyingly mean face.

I wanted to be more tender, more attentive, and sillier. A lot of the resolutions I made were around that—to try to be different and to make a different atmosphere in our home. I think my resolutions about parenthood really made a big difference, to me and to my family. When I lighten up, they lighten up, too.

Be Inkandescent: Was there any particular month you really found to be happy, and another you didn’t?

Gretchen Rubin: That’s an interesting question. I think all of the months were challenging, because I was picking things I wanted to change, or things I wanted to do differently. But it’s tough to say sometimes whether some things were easy or hard.

For example, going to bed on time. Is that hard or is that easy? After all, what is so hard about going to bed on time? But in practice, it is kind of hard—not that it’s difficult to do; it’s that you have to make up your mind to do it and stick to it.

Some things were easy and very fun, like my choice to kiss my husband every morning and every night. That is very easy, and very nice.

The bottom line is that being happy boils down to the decision to expect more from yourself, figuring out the fine line between the natural limitations of your nature, and the places that you should expect more.

Be Inkandescent: What does it mean to be happy?

Gretchen Rubin: I started my career in law, and I have happy memories of spending an entire semester arguing about the definition of contract. If anything, defining and understanding happiness is even more elusive. There are actually 15 academic definitions of happiness, and you can spend a lot of time arguing about contentment versus bliss. I feel that for most people, it’s not that helpful to worry so much about what happiness is. It’s actually easier to think about being happier.

Does money buy happiness? And what do the brain and body do when you’re happy? Read all about it.

“Each person’s happiness project will be unique, but it’s the rare person who can’t benefit from starting one,” writes Gretchen Rubin in her book, “The Happiness Project.”

• Start small: Put your keys away in the same place every night.
• Think big: Repair relationships with your family.

Most importantly, decide what resolutions to make by answering the following questions:

• What makes you feel good? What activities do you find fun, satisfying, or energizing?
• What makes you feel bad? What are the sources of anger, irritation, boredom, frustration, or anxiety in your life?
• Is there any way in which you don’t feel right about your life? Do you wish you could change your job, city, family situation, or other circumstances? Are you living up to your expectations for yourself? Does your life reflect your values?
• Do you have sources of an atmosphere of growth? In what elements of your life do you find progress, learning, challenge, improvement, and increased mastery?

Once you’ve made your resolutions, find a strategy to assess your progress and hold yourself accountable.

• Record and score your resolutions.
• Keep a one-sentence journal on any topic you like.
• Identify your personal commandments: Share your happiness hacks, your Secrets of Adulthood, and any kind of list that keeps you on track.
• Create an inspiration board of your favorite books, quotes, movies, or images.
• Want to start a group for people also doing happiness projects? Send Rubin an email.

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9 Tips to Make Keeping Your Resolutions Easier

1. Write it down … and be specific. Not “make more friends,” but “start a movie group, “remember birthdays,” “say hello,” “make plans.”
2. Review your resolution constantly. If your resolution is buzzing through your head, it’s easier to stick to it.
3. Hold yourself accountable. Tell people about your resolution, join or form a like-minded group, score yourself on a chart.
4. Think BIG! Maybe you need a big change, a big adventure—a trip, a break-up, a new job.
5. Think SMALL! Don’t assume that only radical change can make a difference. Cleaning your fridge can give you a real boost.
6. Break your main resolution into manageable tasks.
7. Keep your resolution every day. Weirdly, it’s often easier to do something every day (exercise, post to a blog, deal with the mail) than every few days.
8. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Instead of training for a marathon, aim for a daily 20-minute walk. Instead of cleaning the basement, tackle one closet.
9. Consider dropping a resolution if you keep breaking it. Don’t let an unfulfilled resolution to lose 20 pounds or give up TV block you.

Learn more about Gretchen Rubin and her happiness project at gretchenrubin.com.