{"id":2100,"date":"2010-01-07T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-07T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html"},"modified":"2010-01-07T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-01-07T10:00:00","slug":"gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html","title":{"rendered":"Gretchen Rubin: The Happiness Project!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/span><\/p>\n

I often quote fellow blogger Gretchen Rubin<\/a> on Beyond Blue<\/a> because most of her directives for a happier life apply to sanity, as well. I recognize many of my steps to recovery from depression and addiction both on her blog and now in her handsome and insightful book, “The Happiness Project.”<\/a><\/p>\n

I have to be honest. When I was first introduced to Gretchen, I thought there was no way in hell that we’d be able to relate to each other. She had two degrees from Yale, lived in the upper-east side of Manhattan, and was, well, way too successful and pretty for me to talk to. If it’s not obvious already, let me just say that I was a tad jealous of her. However, as I started to dig into her material–and especially now after reading her book–I was blown away by how much we do have in common, and I was moved by the sympathetic and vulnerable parts of her story.<\/p>\n

For one, we imitate the same spiritual master! And for the same reason!<\/p>\n

In “The Happiness Project,”<\/a> Gretchen writes: <\/p>\n

I’d started my happiness project to test my hypothesis that I could become happier by making small changes in my ordinary day. I didn’t want to reject the natural order of my life–by moving to Walden Pond or Antarctica, say, or taking a sabbatical from my husband. I wasn’t going to give up toilet paper or shopping or experiment with hallucinogens. I’d already switched careers. Surely I’d hoped, I could change my life without changing my life, by finding more happiness in my own kitchen….I wanted to take little steps to be happier as I lived my ordinary life, and that was very much in the spirit of Saint Therese.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And I’ve found myself repeating one of her commandments: “Be Gretchen.” (But I say, “Be Therese,” of course.) What a succinct way of reminding myself that I don’t have to do everything perfectly. For example, just this morning, I messed up the oatmeal again. Eric was on the stationary bike and yelled “Is something burning?” “I got it! I got it!” I screamed back. “This is why I hate boiling water in small pan,” I explained. “This always happens!” He burst into laughter, shaking his head. “Domestically challenged” is the diagnosis he’s given me.<\/p>\n

Other helpful chapters in her book, topics we’ve covered on Beyond Blue<\/a> and on the discussion threads of Group Beyond Blue<\/a>: making time for friends, learning how to play (something that doesn’t come easy to some folks), and paying attention to the present and cultivating mindfulness in your day. <\/p>\n

Gretchen begins her book with some basic research on happiness, which says it’s possible for every one of us to be happier. Yah! Now some of us start at sea-level happiness while others are high on life, but about 30 percent of our happiness is a result of what we think and do, and TRY to tame those wild ideas inside our head. Says Gretchen, “People have an inborn disposition that’s set within a certain range, but they can boost themselves to the top of their happiness range by their actions.”<\/p>\n

Try it for yourself. Pick up a copy of Gretchen’s “The Happiness Project,”<\/a> and start a happiness project of your own. <\/p>\n

* Click here to subscribe to Beyond Blue<\/b><\/a> and click here to follow Therese on Twitter<\/b><\/a> and click here to join Group Beyond Blue<\/b><\/a>, a depression support group. Now stop clicking.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I often quote fellow blogger Gretchen Rubin on Beyond Blue because most of her directives for a happier life apply to sanity, as well. I recognize many of my steps to recovery from depression and addiction both on her blog and now in her handsome and insightful book, “The Happiness Project.” I have to be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mental-health"],"yoast_head":"\nGretchen Rubin: The Happiness Project! - Beyond Blue<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gretchen Rubin: The Happiness Project! - Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I often quote fellow blogger Gretchen Rubin on Beyond Blue because most of her directives for a happier life apply to sanity, as well. I recognize many of my steps to recovery from depression and addiction both on her blog and now in her handsome and insightful book, “The Happiness Project.” I have to be…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-01-07T10:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/files\/import\/imgs\/The%20Happiness%20Project.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beyond Blue\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gretchen Rubin: The Happiness Project! - Beyond Blue","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gretchen Rubin: The Happiness Project! - Beyond Blue","og_description":"I often quote fellow blogger Gretchen Rubin on Beyond Blue because most of her directives for a happier life apply to sanity, as well. I recognize many of my steps to recovery from depression and addiction both on her blog and now in her handsome and insightful book, “The Happiness Project.” I have to be…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html","og_site_name":"Beyond Blue","article_published_time":"2010-01-07T10:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/files\/import\/imgs\/The%20Happiness%20Project.jpg"}],"author":"Beyond Blue","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html","name":"Gretchen Rubin: The Happiness Project! - Beyond Blue","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/files\/import\/imgs\/The%20Happiness%20Project.jpg","datePublished":"2010-01-07T10:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2010-01-07T10:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/#\/schema\/person\/47318cdf8063cc052eccff0c99db4e75"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/files\/import\/imgs\/The%20Happiness%20Project.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/files\/import\/imgs\/The%20Happiness%20Project.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2010\/01\/gretchen-rubin-the-happiness-p.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gretchen Rubin: The Happiness Project!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/","name":"Beyond Blue","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Therese J. Borchard","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/#\/schema\/person\/47318cdf8063cc052eccff0c99db4e75","name":"Beyond Blue","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/45c\/45c6e619a20a364bd981e9dda64eaa02x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/45c\/45c6e619a20a364bd981e9dda64eaa02x96.jpg","caption":"Beyond Blue"},"description":"Therese J. Borchard writes the daily blog, Beyond Blue, on Beliefnet.com. She is the author of Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes and The Pocket Therapist. You may find her at her personal blog, her website, or you may follow her on Twitter @thereseborchard.","sameAs":["http:\/\/thereseborchard.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/author\/tborchard"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}