The Happiness Project
Highlights
Getting Started
according to a current theory of the brain, the unconscious mind does crucial work in forming judgments, motives, and feelings outside our awareness or conscious control, and one factor that influences the work of the unconscious is the “accessibility” of information, or the ease with which it comes to mind. Information that has been recently called up or frequently used in the past is easier to retrieve and therefore energized. The concept of “accessibility” suggested to me that by constantly reminding myself of certain goals and ideas, I could keep them more active in my mind.
Getting Started
TWELVE COMMANDMENTS Be Gretchen. Let it go. Act the way I want to feel. Do it now. Be polite and be fair. Enjoy the process. Spend out. Identify the problem. Lighten up. Do what ought to be done. No calculation. There is only love.
Getting Started
I didn’t want to reject my life. I wanted to change my life without changing my life, by finding more happiness in my own kitchen
Getting Started
SECRETS OF ADULTHOOD People don’t notice your mistakes as much as you think. It’s okay to ask for help. Most decisions don’t require extensive research. Do good, feel good. It’s important to be nice to everyone. Bring a sweater. By doing a little bit each day, you can get a lot accomplished. Soap and water remove most stains. Turning the computer on and off a few times often fixes a glitch. If you can’t find something, clean up. You can choose what you do; you can’t choose what you like to do. Happiness doesn’t always make you feel happy. What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while. You don’t have to be good at everything. If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough. Over-the-counter medicines are very effective. Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. What’s fun for other people may not be fun for you—and vice versa. People actually prefer that you buy wedding gifts off their registry. You can’t profoundly change your children’s natures by nagging them or signing them up for classes. No deposit, no return.
Getting Started
One of my goals for the happiness project was to prepare for adversity—to develop the self-discipline and the mental habits to deal with a bad thing when it happened. The time to start exercising, stop nagging, and organize our digital photos was when everything was going smoothly. I didn’t want to wait for a crisis to remake my life.