The Happiness Project | Summary
Summary Station
- Gretchen
- Rubin’s
- book
- begins
- with
- the
- “story
- behind
- the
- story.”
- In
- “Getting
- Started,”
- Gretchen
- shares
- what
- sparked
- the
- whole
- idea
- of
- a
- “Happiness
- Project”
- to
- begin
- with.
- The
- idea
- was
- rooted
- in
- nothing
- more
- fateful
- than
- a
- bus
- ride.
- It
- was
- a
- typical
- day
- and
- a
- typical
- commute
- when
- Gretchen
- caught
- sight
- out
- the
- bus
- window
- of
- a
- woman
- juggling
- an
- umbrella,
- a
- cell
- phone,
- and
- a
- child.
- Not
- a
- very
- extraordinary
- woman,
- but
- someone
- that
- Gretchen
- could
- see
- herself
- in.
- She
- was
- that
- woman
- –
- ordinary,
- harried,
- and
- while
- not
- depressed,
- maybe
- not
- the
- happiest,
- either.
- That’s
- when
- it
- hit
- Gretchen
- –
- she
- was
- happy,
- but
- was
- she
- happy
- enough?
- Was
- this,
- an
- ordinary
- bus
- ride
- with
- ordinary
- feelings
- on
- an
- ordinary
- day
- really
- all
- there
- was
- for
- her
- in
- life?
- She
- knew
- she
- had
- life
- good,
- but
- could
- she
- have
- it
- even
- better?
- Gretchen
- decided
- to
- find
- out.
- A
- perfectionist
- and
- planner,
- Gretchen
- got
- started
- on
- her
- “Happiness
- Project”
- by
- doing
- some
- research.
- She
- read
- all
- the
- greats
- –
- from
- Plato
- to
- Schopenhauer
- in
- philosophy;
- Seligman
- to
- Lyubomirsky
- in
- religion;
- Tolstoy
- to
- McEwan
- to
- even
- Oprah
- in
- literature
- and
- pop-culture.
- She
- spoke
- with
- friends
- and
- family
- and
- colleagues,
- all
- of
- them
- a
- mix
- of
- critical
- and
- encouraging.
- This
- is
- a
- summary
- and
- analysis
- of
- the
- book
- and
- NOT
- the
- original book
