Some thoughtful readers let me know that my Third Splendid Truth — “The days are long, but the years are short” — appeared in the Zits comic strip a few weeks ago. So fun!

While we’re on that topic, here’s my one-minute video, The Years Are Short. Of everything I’ve written, I think that perhaps this little video resonates with people the most.

I’ve written before about why the resolution to Join or start a group — any kind of group — can bring you happiness. I’ve joined or started fourteen groups since I began my happiness project, and they’ve added tremendously to my happiness.

Many people have started Happiness Project groups, for people meeting to discuss their own happiness projects; they swap ideas, build enthusiasm, and hold each other other accountable for their resolutions — which is so important for making change. (Think about AA or Weight Watchers.) In fact, here are 9 reasons why starting a Happiness Project group will boost your happiness. It’s also true that just the fact of joining a group, whatever the focus might be, brings happiness.

For people who interested in Happiness Project groups, I created a starter kit, to help get the ball rolling. Many thousands of people have requested one. (To receive one yourself, email me at gretchenrubin1 at gmail dot com.)

I’m extremely interested in these groups, and have wanted to be able to track and engage with them, and at last, after a few false starts, I think I’ve figured out how to do that.

If you’re in a Happiness Project group, or starting one, please, take this quick survey — it’s just six questions and will take you less than a minute — to provide some basic information.

People often ask me, “How do I find out if there’s a group in my area?” This survey will allow me to put together a complete list, along with contact information for the groups that want to provide that. I’ll post the list on my here and on Facebook (but because I don’t have information yet, that material isn’t yet available.)

If your group is just getting started, fill in what information you can, and write a note in the “Additional comments” section to say that you’re still putting it together.

Also, I know that the groups would like to be able to discuss issues among themselves. That discussion will take place here on Facebook.

I’m wildly interested to learn more about the groups! So please do fill out the survey. Thanks! I really appreciate it.

If you want to start a happiness project as a solo project instead of as part of a group, here’s some information that might be useful.

* To get the starter kit for launching a happiness project group, email me at gretchenrubin1 at gmail dot com. And don’t forget to take the ">survey.

Happiness interview: Natalie Taylor.

Natalie Taylor has written a wonderful, moving memoir, Signs of Life. When she was 24 years old and five-months pregnant, Natalie’s husband Josh died in a skateboarding accident, and her book describes what she went through over the next few years.

I really loved this book. One of my happiness-project resolutions is to Read memoirs of catastrophe, and out of her experience, Natalie was able to convey some very profound insights into the nature of love and happiness.

I also loved this book for another reason. As an ardent supporter of organ donation, I was very moved to read how her family handled the issue: without a second thought. “Josh donates seven organs,” Natalie wrote. Tears welled up in my eyes when I read that.

Gretchen: Becoming a widow is an enormous happiness challenge. How did you meet it?
Natalie: A few days after losing my husband, I vividly remember sitting in the passenger’s seat of my sister’s car telling her I could never be happy again. Three and a half years later, I don’t feel that way at all. I’m not even quite sure how or when it happened. I just know that at the time, I was desperate not to be destroyed by grief, not just for me, but for my son. So, I tried everything. I saw a psychologist, I went to spousal grief group, I went to a single mom’s group, I forced myself to go through pictures, I wrote, I read, I acknowledged anniversaries, and as much as I faked it in front of other people (man, did I get good at that), I never lied to myself. Part of me knew I needed to get in the fight early and often or else the grief could morph into a very dangerous monster. It’s not to say I’m on cloud nine everyday, but the pain of the immediate grief is like the pain of labor—you how bad it hurt, but the intensity of the moment is a memory of the past.

What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier?
Two things: 1. Playing with my son. A lot of times I get so wrapped up in making dinner and doing laundry that I forget to slow down and just play. The best is when I turn my phone off, turn the radio off, turn the oven off and just put 100% of myself into pretending to be Han Solo.

2. Exercise. I do this thing called CrossFit where it’s a one-hour class that usually leaves me crumpled up on the floor gasping for air feeling like I am going to die. It’s awesome. But more than the workout itself, I love the people at my gym. The combination of getting stronger and having a fun community of people is totally addicting.

Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your happiness?
I’m pretty sure it’s called “eating your feelings.” I’m not sure if this happens to anyone else, but when I am full of mixed emotions, I will walk into my kitchen and have sort of a black out moment and then the next thing I know there are cookie crumbs all over the counter. I can tell you from experience, this does not make me happier, but shamefully, I do it repeatedly.

Is there a happiness mantra or motto that you’ve found very helpful? (e.g., I remind myself to “Be Gretchen.”)
In the midst of my grief, a wise person told me, “you are only visiting this place.” Sometimes life has us feeling like we are stuck in a bad place forever. In my book I talk a lot about not just my bad place, but how I got out—sometimes I was gently carried by those who loved me, sometimes I was dragged by my collar, and other times I clawed my way out myself. I came to realize that no matter how dark life got, I did not have to stay there forever. Now when I have a hard day, I remind myself that it’s a visit, not a permanent residence.

Is there anything that you see people around you doing or saying that adds a lot to their happiness, or detracts a lot from their happiness?
I love being around people who aren’t afraid to speak the truth. I remember before my husband’s viewing, my best friend, Katie, who had lost her mom three years earlier, told me that people were going to say a lot of stupid things to me at the viewing about why Josh died. She said, “I am handing you an invisible stack of STFU cards” which stood for “Shut the F@#& Up” and she told me when people say things that I don’t care to hear, I can imagine handing them one of my cards. Katie’s honest and humorous approach has gotten me through a lot.

Do you work on being happier? If so, how?
I keep my ear to the ground for the little tricks on leading a happier life. The Monday after Easter, Anne, a coworker of mine with four little kids, told me she was always overwhelmed with holidays, but this year she took the advice of another mom whose kids are older now. Anne told me before her relatives and in-laws came over for brunch, she took a shot of tequila. She said it actually really helped. I’m not advocating for drunk Easter Sundays, I’m just saying, I place a high value on these black market pearls of wisdom. It’s usually the best advice.

* Sign up for the Moment of Happiness, and every weekday morning, you’ll get a happiness quotation in your email inbox. Sign up here, or email me at gretchenrubin1 at gmail dot com.

Happiness interview: Piper Kerman.

I’d heard a lot about Piper Kerman’s book, Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, even before I bought my copy. I was intrigued with her story: more than ten years after agreeing to deliver a large cash payment for a drug ring, she ended up spending a year in a minimum-security prison. I was fascinated to hear what she had to say about happiness — and how to find happiness in difficult circumstances.

Gretchen: What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier?
Piper: Cooking. I find the combination of the measured steps of creating a meal, along with the opportunity for experimentation and novelty, to always result in happiness – and a concrete outcome! And when I’m in cooking mode, I listen to one radio show, Little Steven’s Underground Garage. When my husband comes home and hears that show blasting through the computer, he knows he’ll find me in a good mood, creating something delicious.

What’s something you know now about happiness that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?
That happiness is intrinsically tied up in one’s relationships with others, not “standalone” achievements. Even one’s individual triumphs only mean something in relation to other people.

Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your happiness?
Procrastinating – I’m the worst! It’s an irrational behavior, but I’ve been a terrible procrastinator as long as I can remember.

Is there a happiness mantra or motto that you’ve found very helpful? (e.g., I remind myself to “Be Gretchen.”)
The last chapter of my book, Orange is the New Black, is called “It Can Always Get Worse,” and at a very difficult point when I was a prisoner this was a daily mantra – intended to ward off the worst! While this may sound very negative, in truth it reminds me to appreciate the positive that’s to be found even in awful circumstances, and be grateful for what’s good in every day. Concentrating on the positive is essential for me.

If you’re feeling blue, how do you give yourself a happiness boost?
Taking a walk always helps dispel melancholy. Freedom to move is very important to me.

Is there anything that you see people around you doing or saying that adds a lot to their happiness, or detracts a lot from their happiness?
When people have the opportunity to contribute and collaborate, they feel powerful, important, and worthy. When they’re isolated from others, they feel the opposite. I think that people who feel that they have a lot to offer, a lot to give, are the most happy.

Have you always felt about the same level of happiness, or have you been through through a period when you felt exceptionally happy or unhappy – if so, why? If you were unhappy, how did you become happier?
When facing incarceration I hit some tremendous lows; I spent almost six years waiting to go to prison, never knowing when in fact it would happen, and that was a very isolating, helpless period of my life. The combination of the guilt and shame of becoming an outcast, coupled with having no control over what was going to happen in my life was very, very dark.

What’s surprising, even shocking, was that I became much happier when I started serving my sentence. Prisons are horrible places, very sad places, and yet many of the other women I met in prison became a source of great hope and happiness for me. Surviving a difficult, intense experience together with others can form profound bonds, and I and many other prisoners were determined to discover or create something good in a place that is explicitly intended to be miserable.

We would do this in simple ways: running on the prison’s small gravel track, practicing yoga with other prisoners, cooking, expressing creativity in small ways. To find moments of happiness in prison is an important act of defiance and a declaration of humanity.

Have you ever been surprised that something you expected would make you very happy, didn’t – or vice versa?
I just had a baby – something I was frankly ambivalent about – and while I fully expected to love my son, it is surprising how happy you can be to pick up a screaming baby at 3AM.

* Is your book group reading The Happiness Project? I’ve prepared a one-page discussion guide for book groups, as well as a guide tailored for church groups, prayer circles, spirituality book groups, and the like. If you’d like either discussion guide (or both), email me at gretchenrubin1 at gmail dot com. (Don’t forget the “1.”)

Zoikes, I’m so HAPPY. I just heard that The Happiness Project hit #1 on the New York Times list! Thrilling.

Thanks once again, dear readers. I so appreciate your enthusiasm and support. Hooray!