Happiness Project Interview Questions.

Just for kicks, I've answered Gretchen Rubin's questions she asks her interviewees. I'm fantasizing here that I'm famous :)

What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier?
MUSIC. Music always works. YOGA. Yoga always makes me happy. Working out. Yeah, I hate to admit it, but working out does make me happy, but takes much more effort :)

What’s something you know now about happiness that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?
Well, I’m 34, and you’d think I’ve learned a lot, but not really. The same things make me Unhappy. Like yucky feelings. Oh feelings. Disappointment, fear of someone NOT liking me (gasp), dis-approval from my mother, being in love with someone who is not in love with me. Ug… There is something I’ve learned. Awareness. I am REALLY aware of my feelings now. I think partially due to years of therapy and yoga. I can have these feelings and be aware that I’m having them, and not soooo attached to them. I guess I realize they are the clouds and I am the sky (I think I stole that from Rabi Rami)

Is there a happiness mantra or motto that you’ve found very helpful?
What’s my mantra…mantra.. hmmm this too shall pass, just do the next right thing, the universe…thinking about being a pile of atoms and molecules.. that helps get me out of my head. OHHH here’s a good one – it’s my computer scrolling marquee screen saver “each moment is pregnant with the rapture of life”. Oh, and “life is good” I love those two guys who created those t-shirts. They rock!


If you’re feeling blue, how do you give yourself a happiness boost?
The serenity prayer works in times of extreme frustration (like driving with a screaming kid or something of the like). Oh swearing. Swearing totally works for me. …MUSIC. Sometimes sleep. Cleaning. Yoga. Working out. Stopping to breathe. Surfing the Internet. Writing in a journal. Man I have a lot of tools. YEAH tool kit.

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?
YES – not taking care of themselves, or their cash, or their house. Care and attention are expressions of love. It really doesn’t take that much effort, but to overcome the momentum of doing nothing, is the hardest part.