Milestones to Happiness

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I don’t know if I believe in the idea of spiritual synchronicity, but when something tries to insert itself in my life on three different occasions, I give it some attention. Such was the case with The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. I think it may be the first case of a book stalking a reader. But that’s a long story and the point is that after a month of being accosted by a book I hadn’t intended to read (the sample chapter lurking on my Nook is there because a friend wanted to look it over and the local B&N was out of copies) I have succumbed and started reading.

Of course, like many people, I could handle more happiness in my life, a fact underscored when I realized I’ve take then same Authentic Happiness Inventory the author mentions in the introduction. I scored something like 1.5 on a scale of 1to 5, while Rubin managed a 3.92 before she started her project to get happier. I’d like to point out that I took that test about a year ago, a month after my father died, and I was at a low point. But even so, a case could be made that while I’ve made progress, there is still room for improvement. Originally, I intended to read the book and learn what I could. By the time I was two thirds of the way through Chapter One, I was convinced I needed to map out a happiness journey of my own and use the coming months as mile markers or sign posts to keep me focused and moving forward.

In the introduction the author mentions the multitude of books she used to guide her.Since it was the convergence of four books — a literary crossroads of ideas from unexpected directions — that launched me on this path, I’ve decided to map my journey with books. And I wont be trotting out a parade of titles from the psychology and self-improvement aisles. Looking at all the areas of my life in which I fall short does not add to my happiness. Instead, I’ll choose a different component of happiness to focus on each month and use a mix of novels and autobiographies to point the way. Rubin points out that everyone’s path to happiness will be different. In that spirit, I will start my journey with a dip into romance. What could be more essential to happiness than loving and being loved?

February with it’s heavy snows, fires in the hearth, and Valentine’s Day at it’s heart, is the perfect time to discover what romance novels can teach me about finding happiness. Ah, I see eyebrows arching. Keep an open mind and check back to see how it goes.

So, to get an preproject measure of my current level of happiness, I retook the happiness test and scored a 2.62. You can take the test yourself and I’m guessing it shouldn’t be hard to pass me up:(.

If you’re interested in planning your own happiness project, Gretchen Rubin’s website has a toolbox to get you started. Registration is free and I created an account so you can follow my take on happiness there as well as here. Let me know in the comments if you’re planning to do a Happiness Project of your own or if you know a good romance that can teach me something about happiness.

Check back later this week to see my report on the first milemarker in my project: Laura Kinsale’s, Lessons in French.

The Sunday Scribblings prompt this week was: Milestones. Check here to see what other scribblers had to say about Milestones.