The Happiness Project, by Grethcen Ruben, is about about how she tries to find true happiness throughout her neutral, yet complex life.  She wasn’t completely satisfied with her life, yet she has a husband which she admires, and two delightful young daughters. To other’s, acquiring these things are already a blessing, but in the author’s eyes, she has yet to find true happiness.  The author is constantly in a state of complexity, as she can never find anything satisfying. ” I wanted to change myself but accept myself. I wanted to take my self less seriously, and also more seriously”. (4) The author is regularly contradicting herself, to the point where it drives her to pursue the happiness project even more.

Like “The Secret”, by Rhonda Byrne’s, she associates herself with the worlds greatest philosophers, such as Plato, Boethius, etc. The author does research on these great theorist, on how they once obtained great achievement and prosperity in their lives. Despite all the hard work she performed, she questions herself, ” First, did I believe it was possible to make myself happier? After all, the “set-point” theory holds that a person’s basic level of happiness doesn’t fluctuate much, except briefly.” (5) She then concludes that it was actually possible; that people have an inborn disposition. You just have to raise your happiness standards higher.

It’s quite interesting that the author is always in a state of confusion, but yet she still strives to be a perfect character. The author is aiming for true happiness, despite her contradicting thoughts interfering with her actions.