Bestselling nonfiction author Gretchen Rubin, who has been featured on WCW before, is an expert on happiness. That's right, happiness. Well, it's easy enough to tell yourself (or someone else) to be happy, but it's quite another to accomplish it successfully if you're not naturally one of those people who leans toward the "glass half full" mentality (like me).
I wanted to let you all know that Gretchen has just launched a very helpful Happiness Project Toolbox to guide you through maintaining a high level of happiness every day. Here's how Gretchen came up with it:
"I remember exactly where I was when I got the idea for the Toolbox. I was walking up Lexington Avenue, between 77th Street and 78th Street, when I thought, 'Wow, it would be great to have a site where people could chart their resolutions.' About ten steps later, I thought, 'But a site like that should also allow people to keep their one-sentence journals, or post their happiness hacks.' Then it hit me. A Happiness Project Toolbox! I was so struck by the idea that I literally stopped in my tracks – I remember that the woman behind me ran into me and shot me a very annoyed look as she passed."
The toolbox offers eight free widgets:
-- Resolutions: record and track your resolutions.
-- Group Resolutions: challenge several people to a group resolution.
-- One-Sentence Journal: keep a journal on any subject you like (my online one-sentence journal is “What I’m reading today”).
-- Personal Commandments: identify principles to guide your life.
-- Secrets of Adulthood: record what you’ve learned so far.
-- Happiness Hacks: share your hacks about clutter, exercise, mindfulness, etc.
-- Lists Tool: keep any list -- to-do, favorite things, things-to-do-before-I-die, etc.
-- Inspiration Board: pull together your favorite books, quotations, images, and websites.
Here's the thing. You could have the most objectively amazing life ever, but if you aren't happy, you really have nothing at all. So if you need some help, check out this great site. I know I'm going to be visiting frequently.
What a great post! I love using the Happiness Project Toolbox, though I wish I had more time to spend there. I seriously could spend DAYS adding things and looking at what others have put in their toolboxes. Happiness is so important (it's the focal point of my site) and I think the toolbox is a great way to keep tabs on our happiness. The design of it is so fabulous as well, which makes me want to spend ltos and lots of time there!
Posted by: Positively Present | July 07, 2009 at 07:56 PM
@PP: Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure Gretchen will be delighted.
Posted by: Alexandra Levit | July 14, 2009 at 04:15 PM