Spring is awakening after a long winter’s nap. As the seasons begin anew, we should consider planting our own seeds of happiness. One book that assists us on this noble path is Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness Project.

Rubin lays out her year-long happiness quest from its genesis, to her success and achievements. In her introduction, she defines her happiness project as “an approach to changing your life.” Rubin expresses her seemingly perfect life: she has a wonderful family and a successful career as a writer. Yet, she desires greater zeal, joy, and happiness in her everyday life. Through her happiness project, she intends to find greater meaning, purpose, and fulfillment.

In the initial stage of her happiness project, Rubin identifies the areas in her life that brings her fulfillment and joy. Then, she identifies the areas that need attention and improvement. She asserts that establishing a resolution chart is a critical piece in the process and stresses the importance of holding oneself accountable. Each chapter chronicles Rubin’s commitment to cultivating greater happiness in her life. These areas include vitality, marriage, work, parenthood, leisure, friendship, money, eternity, passion, mindfulness, and attitude. Initially, the reader may feel overwhelmed with the immensity of this project. But Rubin breaks down every resolution to its bare bone necessity.

Rubin fittingly kick starts her project by boosting her energy and vitality. She commits herself to more hours of sleep, regular exercise, and the removal of clutter. Without energy and will power, she would lack the fuel in obtaining her long-term goals. Thus, her first resolution serves as a strong foundation for undertaking her project.

In the marriage chapter, Rubin tackles two of her most difficult challenges. She vowed to quit nagging and worked on “fighting right.” Both nagging and fighting can place a great strain on a relationship. Like most married couples, Rubin resorted to nagging as a means of reminding her husband to complete his tasks. For example, Rubin created a family tradition of sending out Valentine’s cards to her relatives. She received no support from her husband on her project, but instead of resorting to nagging, she put her new resolution to practice. To combat her feelings, she said, “I reminded myself that tasks didn’t need to be done according to schedule” (pg. 43). Similarly, all relationships have its share of arguments. Instead of snapping, Gretchen notes “I wanted to be able to have fights that were more fun…and be affectionate even while we were disagreeing” (pg. 46). Couples that fight right “tackle only one difficult topic at a time, instead of indulging in arguments that cover every grievance since the first date” (pg. 47). Strong couples also work on repairing the damage and acknowledge the perspective and feelings of one another. Through these resolutions, she strived to improve the health of her marriage. When conflicts arise, she felt armed with new skills to combat marital quarrels.

The Happiness Project becomes an engaging and endearing experience for readers. This book lends itself to self-discovery as Rubin lists her small failures and minor setbacks. Rubin wields a pen of humor when she writes about her family, friends, and daily tasks. She becomes an avid reader of books that center on life and happiness. She also identifies her “Four Splendid Truths” and shares her own little nuggets of wisdom. Moreover, her memoir testifies that happiness is attainable to the soul that adventurously seeks it.

Rubin notes that her happiness project was not as ambitious as the great philosophers, but it does not have to be grandiose in scale. One’s approach to happiness can be simplistic and reach us where we are on life’s journey. For more information on starting your own Happiness Project, please visit Gretchen Rubin’s site at http://www.happiness-project.com.