Ask
yourself this question: Are you happy? Really happy? Four years ago,
Serena Kennedy, from Cheam, Surrey, was not an entirely happy woman.
Neither was her friend Beverly Worsley, who was trying to regain her
emotional equilibrium after suffering depression.
Meanwhile,
accountant Genny Jones, from Kent, was newly divorced, flat broke and
living with her two teenage sons. Life seemed bleak for each of these
women - then they read a book that was to change their lives for ever.
The
Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin chronicles the American author’s
merciless, year-long endeavour to cast off the shackles of gloom and
become a better and happier person.
By applying
the strictures of scientific thought, economics and positive psychology
to her life, Rubin banished despondency and surged onto the sunlit
uplands of a more joyful existence.
The
former lawyer, who is married with two young daughters, became a better
wife, mother, person, friend and all-round human being. She learned to
sing in the morning, nourish her spirituality and was candid enough to
admit money can buy happiness - if you spend it wisely.
If
you were to boil her philosophy down to the basics, achieving lasting
Gretchen happiness would come to this: stop eating sugar, tidy your
cutlery drawer, cherish novelty, meet deadlines and seize the moment.
Above all, her mantra is that outer order leads to inner calm. And she
exhorts her readers to begin each day with one simple act: make your
bed.
The
Happiness Project became an international bestseller, staying at the top
of the book charts for two years. It sold millions of copies in more
than 30 languages, and readers went on to set up their own happiness
groups.
Serena
Kennedy, 50, a HR manager, and Beverly Worsley, 55, a charity
fundraiser, are two of these readers. They set up their Happiness Group
in Esher, Surrey, in 2011. Their group is thriving. They also deliver
‘lunch and learn’ sessions on happiness into the business world.
‘The
word happy can have weird connotations. People can be resistant as they
initially think it’s a religious thing, but it is a force for good,’
says Beverly.
Culled from Mail Online
