Some of you know how much I admire amazing writer, researcher, and podcast host Gretchen Rubin, author of such bestsellers as Better Than Before, The Four Tendencies, and Happier at Home.

Back in 2016, I reviewed Gretchen’s thought-provoking book, The Happiness Project, in one of my earliest blogs. (Click here to see it.)

Inspiring, informative, and written from an intimately first-person point of view, Gretchen had me thinking about things I had never pondered before.

Things like:

• How happy am I … really?
• What does it mean to be truly happy?
• How could my life be happier?

Rubin’s extensive research for this book was taken from examinations of hundreds of excerpts written by philosophers and free-thinkers–from the likes of Aristotle, Epicurious, and Benjamin Franklin, to Malcolm Gladwell and Oprah Winfrey.

“A ‘happiness project’ is an approach to changing your life. First is the preparation stage, when you identify what brings you joy, satisfaction, and engagement, and also what brings you guilt, anger, boredom, and remorse. Second is the making of resolutions when you identify the concrete actions that will boost your happiness. Then comes the interesting part: keeping your resolutions.”  –Gretchen Rubin

I had never read anything like it. I haven’t read anything like it since. And, now that we all seem to have a little extra time on our hands, I would encourage everyone to indulge in this great read.

But, when Gretchen was writing The Happiness Project, I’m sure she never had an inkling about the uncertainty this year would bring when she wrote:

“The days are long, but the years are short.”

I agreed with this quote years ago, but in 2020, I say, “Gretchen, this year sure seems l-o-n-g.” (I think even she might agree with me.)

What an unpredictable year! And we had such high hopes for it.

But, I don’t think it’s too late to salvage time, even if does seem like we fast-forwarded from March to August.

I must admit, even on my calendar, March looks a lot like August. Where did the months go?

It’s not too late for 2020 to be a HAPPY YEAR. And that all depends on how YOU define happy.

From beginning to end, this book gets you thinking about choices. Are your choices creating happiness?  

Even in uncertain times, we are defined by our choices.