The Happiness Project

Imitate a Spiritual Master. One Candidate: Steve Jobs.

One of my favorite resolutions is to Imitate a spiritual master. My spiritual master is St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and I've read her spiritual memoir, Story of a Soul, many times, as well as a whole shelf full of biographies. I think about St. Thérèse every single day (and I'm not even Catholic).

From reading the impassioned commentary surrounding the death of Steve Jobs, it's clear to me that many people look to Jobs as a spiritual master -- for his creative genius, for his perseverance in the face of failure and frustration, for his ability to communicate his vision, for his fidelity to himself and his own values.

When I read in Charles Duhigg's New York Times piece that people were paying tribute to Jobs by leaving apples, with one bite missing, outside Job's house in Palo Alto, I choked up. I went to re-read, for the umpteenth time, Jobs's thought-provoking 2005 Stanford commencement address, and I finally found the video version.

The first step to imitating a spiritual master is to identify that person, and then to contemplate what that person stands for, what that person is teaching you. The final step is to try to put those teachings to work, in your life.

One way quickly yet meaningfully to honor Jobs's life would be to sign up to be an organ donor. And of course there are countless other ways, too, each specific to an individual.

It's interesting: both St. Thérèse and Steve Jobs knew that death was imminent (from tuberculosis and cancer, respectively). Jobs observed, "Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It is life's change agent." One of the goals for my happiness project is to appreciate my life now, without the threat of death, beyond the ordinary intimations of mortality.

Who is your spiritual master? How do you try to imitate that person's example and teachings, in your own life?

* I’m working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone’s project will look different, but it’s the rare person who can’t benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now. Each Friday’s post will help you think about your own happiness project.

* I always enjoy checking out Time's Healthland -- "a healthy balance of mind, body and spirit." Lots of great information there.

* Want a happiness quotation in your email inbox every morning? Sign up for the Moment of Happiness. Subscribe here.

Happiness Is...Platform 9 and 3/4 in New York City's Union Square Station.

A friend sent me this photo. It made me so happy. I love New York City! And, of course, I love Harry Potter.

* On Twitter? Follow me @gretchenrubin.

Newsflash! "Kristin Davis Set to Star in NBC's "Happiness" Project." Yay!

From The Hollywood Reporter:

KRISTIN DAVIS TO STAR IN NBC'S 'HAPPINESS' PROJECT

Sex and the City star Kristin Davis is set to star in a new NBC project that would mark her return to series television.

NBC has picked up Davis' The Happiness Project, based on the best-selling memoir by Gretchen Rubin about a woman's quest to become a happier person.

The single-camera, half-hour project will be produced by Universal Media Studios and Mosaic.

Kristin Newman (Chuck, How I Met Your Mother) is in negotiations to write the pilot and executive produce. Jimmy Miller and Dave Fleming will also executive produce.

Rubin was once a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. She embarked on a year-long quest to make herself happier, trying out scientific studies and pop culture wisdom. She documented her experiments on her blog.

The project was packaged by UTA.

Yes, it's true -- Kristin Davis! NBC! Kristin Newman! Yay! I am very happy. More info to come.

Facebook has a Gross National Happiness Index.

I’m intrigued by Facebook’s “sentiment engine,” the United States Gross National Happiness application that tracks the happiness of Facebook users based on the words used in their updates – words like “happy” or “awesome” or “sad” or “tragic.”

CNET reports that it covers only English-using United States-based members, but that is likely to change.

Fascinating.

I think I remember reading elsewhere that people tend to emphasize the positive in status updates, which is quite interesting, if true.

The larger question of how social media -- like email, texting, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc. -- plays into our happiness is one of the big new questions in happiness. On the one hand, it’s a tremendous boon and connector of people. On the other hand, it can be a crushing weight that feels inescapable. I’m firmly in the social-media-makes-us-happier camp myself, but I understand the counter-arguments.

* If you're interested in the creative process for writers, check out novelist Christina Baker Kline's blog, A Writing Life. Lots of fascinating material there from many different writers. Kline's great new novel, Bird In Hand, just came out.

* Interested in starting your own happiness project? If you’d like to take a look at my personal Resolutions Chart, for inspiration, just email me at grubin, then the “at” sign, then gretchenrubin dot com. (Sorry about writing it in that roundabout way; I’m trying to thwart spammers.) Just write “Resolutions Chart” in the subject line.

Cold, Crowded, and Inconvient – But the Inauguration Is Making Me Very Happy

I’m very HAPPY to be in Washington, D.C. for the Inauguration. Thinking it over, I realize that there are several different aspects of the situation that are boosting my happiness.

First, it’s a happy occasion. Because this is a joyful event, everyone is cheerful, enthusiastic, chatty, and helpful. The huge crowds, the freezing weather, and the logistical difficulties just seem to make the occasion a bigger adventure.

Second, I realize that I rarely participate – directly or as an observer – in big national events. I’ve never been to the Superbowl; I don’t even watch the Superbowl on TV. I don’t follow American Idol. We live less than a mile from the parade route for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and I’ve never been (I have a friend whose family used to come up from New Orleans each year!). But when I do get into the spirit of these kinds of events, I love it. My daughter and I went to a bookstore at midnight to line up for the last Harry Potter book, and that was tremendously fun. Everyone in the country – and throughout the world – is watching the Inauguration, so it’s great to be here, myself.

Third, and the most significant, is the sense of elevation to everyone’s excitement. It’s not like watching the ball drop in Times Square for New Year’s Eve. Whether Barack Obama supporters or not, people seem to share the conviction that something very important has happened: the United States has taken an enormous step to achieve its promise. And the sense of that here in Washington is very powerful.

I feel very lucky to be here – but zoikes, it is cold.

*Interested in starting your own happiness project? If you’d like to take a look at my personal Resolutions Chart, for inspiration, just email me at grubin, then the “at” sign, then gretchenrubin dot com. Just write “Resolutions Chart” in the subject line.