'The Happiness Project': Part 2

I wrote a couple weeks ago about "The Happiness Project," a book by Gretchen Rubin that I was reading. Well, I finally finished it. (I haven't had much reading time lately.) And I wanted to share a few specific points from it that I especially liked. (And, yes, I recommend it for you to read, too.)

First Splendid Truth
Rubin sprinkles "splendid truths," or enduring ideas she discovers during her project, through the book. The first one is: "To be happy, I need to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth."

A quote on discovery
"Between the ages of twenty and forty we are engaged in the process of discovering who we are, which involves learning the difference between accidental limitations which it is our duty to outgrow and the necessary limitations of our nature beyond which we cannot trespass with impunity." — W. H. Auden

Being Gretchen
"Being Gretchen" is one of (Gretchen) Rubin's Twelve Commandments, or principles, she employs throughout her project (and life). It's a reminder to be true to herself, her likes and dislikes, her priorities, etc.

At one point, she says this principle brings her sadness as she realizes there are some things she will never do or never be. There are so many possibilities in the world, but some of them just aren't for her. And though she'll be happiest doing the things that "are Gretchen," she recognizes the sadness of knowing she won't be able to do it all.

A second reason for the sadness is that she realizes there are some things she wishes she liked, but she knows she doesn't. And she can't necessarily change what she likes.

Living in the present
I know, this is repeated everywhere. But I think it's always nice to be reminded to live in the present. I know I often struggle to appreciate what I have at the moment; instead I look forward to what's coming and miss what's happening.

"There are times in the lives of most of us when we would have given all the world to be as we were but yesterday, though that yesterday had passed over us unappreciated and unenjoyed." — William Edward Hartpole Lecky