뉴욕의 잘나가는 변호사로 일하며 남부러울 것 없이 살고 있던 저자는, 어느 날 문득 자신의 삶이 행복하지 않음을 깨닫고 법조계를 과감히 떠난다. 스스로 바뀌지 않는 한 자신의 삶이 절대 변화될 수 없으리라 생각한 저자는 행복해지는 방법을 찾기 위해 1년을 바치기로 마음먹는다. 그리고 남들에겐 사소해 보일지라도 자신에게 의미가 있다고 생각되는 목표 12가지를 정해 매달 하나씩 공략했다. 이 책은 그 1년간의 경험담을 고스란히 담은 책으로, 지금 당장 실행 가능한 행복의 기술을 아낌없이 소개한다.

#1 New York Times Bestseller

“An enlightening, laugh-aloud read. . . . Filled with open, honest glimpses into [Rubin’s] real life, woven together with constant doses of humor.” —Christian Science Monitor

Gretchen Rubin’s year-long experiment to discover how to create true happiness. Drawing on cutting-edge science, classical philosophy, and real-world examples, Rubin delivers an engaging, eminently relatable chronicle of transformation. This special 10^th Anniversary edition features a Conversation with Gretchen Rubin, Happiness Project Stories, a guide to creating your own happiness project, a list of dozens of free resources, and more.

Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.

In this lively and compelling account—now updated with new material by the author—Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.

This updated edition includes:

• An extensive new interview with the author
• Stories of other people’s life-changing happiness projects
• A resource guide to the dozens of free resources created for readers
• The Happiness Project Manifesto
• An excerpt from Rubin’s bestselling book The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles that Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People’s Lives Better, Too)