{via google image}

I’m a traveler and a bookworm, which means I spend a good chunk of change on airport reading material.  If I’m about to get on a flight without at least two books to read I go into panic mode.  It’s weird, I know.  I’ll work it out later.  I was browsing the bookstore in some random city airport when I stumbled onto The Happiness Project.  I’m working with a 50/50 chance of random book purchases being worth it when I buy blindly, without knowledge of what’s inside.  THIS was a great purchase!  I LOVED it.  Maybe because I’m a pretty happy person and maybe because it’s about a lady who studied the theories and principles of happiness for an entire year or because it’s full of great quotes or because Gretchen Rubin is a blogger.  Whatever it was, she had me at the first page.

{print on Etsy, found here}

Here are a few of my most favorite lines from the book:

-The days are long, but the years are short.
-Studies show that each common interest between people boosts the chances of a lasting relationship and also brings about a 2 percent increase in life satisfaction.
-What you enjoyed as a ten-year-old is probably something you’d enjoy now.
-Fun is energizing.
-I can do anything I want, but I can’t do everything I want.
-Taking the time to be silly means that we’re infecting one another with good cheer, and people who enjoy silliness are one third more likely to be happy.
-Everyone from contemporary scientists to ancient philosophers agrees that having strong social bonds is probably the most meaningful contributor to happiness.  

Intrigued yet?
You can purchase the book here!
You can also check out Gretchen’s blog, The Happiness Project, here.
An entire study on happiness.  I like.