The Happiness Project!
I just finished reading The Happiness Project this morning by Gretchen Rubin and I needed to tell people about it.
This book was fantastic from start to finish and really forces you to take stock of your life and what things make you happy already, what happiness you’re passing up, and also reevaluating what might be making you unhappy.
Right away, I found myself helping my daughter go to bed and she wanted to cuddle. I laid down and instantly reached for my phone, then I asked myself, why am I distracting myself from this moment? She won’t be 7 forever, and soon, before I know it, she’ll likely never ask to cuddle again.
As is repeated in the book more than once, “the days are long, but the years are short,” quickly reminded me to put the phone down and take the moment in. Find the pure joy in the fact my youngest wants to cuddle now and spend this time with just me. She is our last, I will never have a 7 year old to cuddle with again.
I also found myself frustrated by the usual youth hockey end of season drama and parent chatter about if their coach (me) is good enough for their child. Yet, I was on the ice at practice, watching 15 kids have the time of their life, including my own son, and I realized this was happiness. I needed to drown out the noise and live in that moment. If those parents leave, they leave, and new kids will come in who want to enjoy every moment of ice time and play the best game there is.
I am not letting others opinions or voices ruin my happiness.
So, it’s an old book, so maybe you’ve read it, but if not, I can’t recommend The Happiness Project Enough.
Until next time!
-Dan