Happiness should be such a simple thing. But if the thousands of self-help books and seminars on the subject are any indication, most of us are having a lot of trouble finding it, holding onto it, or even figuring out exactly what it is. So what's the problem?

As far as Gretchen Rubin was concerned, there was nothing wrong with her life: She'd had a successful career in law and written several popular nonfiction books. She had a wonderful family. But "I'd always vaguely expected to outgrow my limitations," she said. "One day, I'd magically stop twisting my hair, and wearing running shoes every day, and eating oatmeal for lunch and dinner."

While riding in a cab one rainy afternoon, she was suddenly jolted by the realization that life was slipping by quickly, and despite all her well-intentioned resolutions, she was exactly the same person she'd always been. It finally dawned on her: "If I wanted to be happier, I'd have to do some work."

With that, Rubin embarked upon the Happiness Project: For one whole year, she decided to devour all the psychology studies, literature, philosophy, and memoirs she could find that deal with the subject of happiness. Among other experiments, she went to a "laughter yoga" session, wrote a 50,000-word novel in the space of a month, and even tried a "Week of Extreme Nice," which her husband must have loved. "I did everything his way, did all sorts of little tasks for him, went along with every suggestion," Rubin said. As you might imagine, that particular project "took lots of willpower."

The 'Happiness Project' can be read HERE.

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND ENJOY THE READ!

Love Marilyn