"The Days Are Long, But The Years Are Short." Do You Have a Happiness Project?

Newsflash... The Happiness Project is #1 on the NYT Best Seller List!

Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. "The days are long, but the years are short," she realized. "Time is passing, and I'm not focusing enough on the things that really matter." In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.

Welcome to a Success Strategies podcast on TotalPicture Radio with Peter Clayton reporting. Joining us from New York City is Gretchen Rubin, the author of The Happiness Project, Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun, (Amazon.com link), an account of the year she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, the current scientific studies, and the lessons from pop culture about how to be happy. On Slate, Huffington Post, RealSimple.com, and on her blog, The Happiness Project, she writes about her daily adventures as she tries to be happier.

What should I ask Gretchen? (Link to Linkedin Answers)

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Questions Peter Clayton asks Gretchen Rubin in the podcast:

We spoke last March about the Happiness Project which at that time was pretty well along -- what has transpired since then that perhaps has added to your insights regarding happiness?
For those not familiar with your book, can you give us a brief overview?
Let’s talk about the garden is always greener principle. The are a lot of people who’ve taken radial steps -- like moving across the country or halfway across the word in pursuit of happiness. You looked to improve your life as it existed. Were you successful? Can you share some specifics?
Gretchen received her JD from Yale and was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. She clerked on the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Obviously, you know how to research a subject. What did you learn in all of the research you did for the Happiness project?
In your research did you find any evidence that happiness is hereditary?
I want to spend some time talking about your Happiness Project Toolbox, a free online resource anyone can use… you’ll find it at happinessprojecttoolbox.com -- there are 8 tools you’ve created -- including Resolutions, Lists, One Sentence Journal… how did you choose these?
One that I find particularly interesting is called Personal Commandments - can you expand on this idea? (One of yours is spend out. What does that mean?)
Both you and I have recently interviewed Alexandra Levit, the author on New Job, New You recently (in fact Alexandra and I were discussing recovering lawyers) -- one question you asked her that I’d like to ask you -- Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your happiness?
You have started to embark on a national book tour - as far as I know you’ve held an event in NYC and Boston. What did you hear from the audience? Did any of the remarks surprise you?
Do you think the Happiness Project will be a life long pursuit of yours?
Are you happier today than you were a year ago?
I heard you refer to Twitter as the “gateway drug” what do you mean by that?

Gretchen Rubin received her undergraduate and law degrees from Yale and was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. She clerked on the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and served as a chief adviser to Federal Communications Commissions Chairman Reed Hundt. For many years she taught a seminar at Yale Law School and Yale School of Management. She lives in New York City.

Her popular daily blog, appears on Slate and the Huffington Post and ranks in the prestigious Technorati "Top 2K." There, she recounts her adventures and insights as she grapples with the challenges of how to be happier. She also blogs for RealSimple.com.