What I learned about happiness from my love of Harry Potter: lesson #2.

My love of the Harry Potter books underscores an important general lesson about happiness: one way to be happier is to figure out how to get more bang for the happiness buck.

There are four stages for enjoying a happy event:
 anticipation
 savoring
 expression
 reflection

So, with each happy event, we should think about:
 actively looking forward to it
 relishing it in the moment—which may mean, among other things, not talking on your cell phone or checking your emails
 talking about it with other people, writing about it, etc.
 thinking back on it—a task for which mementos like photos or scrapbooks are very useful

So, instead of just thinking, “Wow, I can’t wait for HP7 to come out” and waiting for the book, I’m doing as much as I can to wring every drop of happiness out of that event.

I re-read all six books, so that I’d remember the twists and turns of the story. What a pleasure.

I bought MuggleNet.com's What Will Happen In Harry Potter 7, which was so much fun.

I’ve had many happy conversations with friends and the Big Girl to speculate on what might happen, and we’re already planning to have long talks as soon as we’ve finished, to debate the ending.

A good friend of mine has a son who is the Big Girl’s good friend. We’re not sure if two eight-year-olds will be able to stay up until midnight without crashing, but we’re going to try. We’ve planned a night of watching the first Harry Potter movie at home, then going to the countdown party at the Barnes & Noble at Union Square. Jim Dale will be reading.

I’m going to take pictures to help us remember the night, later. I hope that it will be one of the Big Girl’s fondest memories of her childhood. It is an historic literary event – and she gets to stay up until midnight! (that’s the most thrilling part for her).

Funnily enough, the hardest part of enjoying Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be the third element – savoring. The suspense is so enormous that I fear that I’ll gulp down the book too quickly to savor it. On Saturday (we decided—no peeking at the book until Saturday morning), I’ll have to use tremendous self-control to read slowly enough to drink in the details. Also, I plan to cut off all communication with the outside world, for fear of a spoiler. I’m confident that the New York Post will have a headline like, “Harry Lives!” or “Harry Dies!”

Sometimes, anticipation is greater than the happiness actually experienced in the moment – that’s known as “rosy prospection.” The publication of HP7 is one of the rare occasions when I’m confident that my prospection will not be disappointed.

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Gosh, I've gotten so sentimental. Today the Very Short List featured a lovely 60-second ad for Lloyds bank, and I found myself sniffing. It makes me think, once again, that only the fact that life unfolds very slowly preserves it from being unbearably poignant.

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Comments

[Sarah Fain]

Oh, Gretchen! Thank you for this post. I've been re-reading HP6, and I'm already in paroxysms of agony waiting for Saturday's Amazon delivery. It's nice to be reminded that it's a HAPPY agony with which I wait. And it's even better to be reminded that when I finally have HP7 in my hot little hands, I should take my time to really enjoy it. Long live Harry Potter!

[Andrew Ward]

Gretchen - if you're keen to spend time thinking about what might happen in book 7, then I can highly recommend the Harry Potter Prognostications podcast (at http://www.hpprogs.com).

[Gretchen Rubin]

Sarah -- I'm impressed that you have time to read HP6, with all the work you've been doing -- but of course, how better to spend those few moments of leisure?
Now I'm off to check out that podcast...tonight the Big Girl and I are making a list of our predictions.

[Jean Browman]

I have audio versions of the first six books and have re-listened to them all. This week I'm spending my afternoons helping at a Harry Potter vacation school. (I'm Professor Harriet Hass, the assistant headmistress.) We have it for one week every summer and schedule to coincide with the book launch, if there is one. It's for 1st through 6th grades and they have a sleepover on Friday night. The kids go to bed at midnight, while some of the parents wait in line at the local bookstore to buy the new copy.

I've also read a couple of John Granger's books--Finding God in Harry Potter and Unlocking Harry Potter, Five Keys for the Serious Reader. Also on the list is Louis CasaBianca’s Defogging the Future–Unauthorized Speculation About the Seventh and Final Book of the Harry Potter Series.

Having done that, I'm now listening again to Jane Austen's Emma, which was a big influence on Rowling. I wouldn't much care if someone announced that Harry died. The story is deeper than just the plot. I'm actually a lot more interested in Snape than Harry. I'd be surprised if he turned out to be a bad guy but am curious as to what the story is there. Clearly the series is not just for kids!

[Patsy Terrell]

I can't wait to get it in my hot little hands. I would love to read it slowly - I read the last one while on a cross country trip on Rt. 66 with two friends. But, I fear it being spoiled for me so I'll read it quickly to avoid that. I want to RELISH the discovery of the story. Be careful... I hear there are already copies out and that there are spoilers about. I almost didn't read this post, but decided the lovely Gretchen would never, ever, do something so mean as to spoil Harry for me!

[Beth]

There's a really nice article on the NYT this morning that neatly sidesteps any spoilers but gives a nice, feel-good, "yes, Rowling's true to her characters and story in the resolution" message.

I'm a library cataloguer so I'll have ten copies in my hands when UPS arrives today at noon! I don't know what will be harder, keeping the kids (including my own kids) out of my office, or resisting the temptation to read that almost-mythic last chapter myself!

[Jude]

I'm happy that I'll never again have to wait in a line to get a copy at 12:01. I'm also happy that Wikipedia published a complete plot outline so I don't have to worry about who lives or dies. My son is hogging the book, so I will finish reading it tomorrow, but I have no suspense about it.

[Duncan]

Nice post, and great blog! :)

My way of slowing down and savouring the book has been to read it out loud to my girlfriend! It's been great fun! :) We've also had fun making predictions as we go, and discussing what we think will happen next... I highly recommend it!