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I had the idea for The Happiness Project while riding a taxi in Boston. As I stared out the window, it occurred to me that my goal in life -
and most everyone else's goal - is to be happy. And yet I didn't spend much time thinking about happiness: what made me happy, what changes might make me happier,
or even what it meant to be "happy." My life encompasses the basic components of happiness (health, a happy family, satisfying work), and I am happy - in fact,
I usually don't appreciate just how happy I am. "I should have a happiness project," I thought. "Or maybe," it dawned on me, "I should write a book about a happiness project."
And so The Happiness Project will be a memoir of a year I spend trying to be a more virtuous, happier person. Each month, I'll tackle a different aspect of life
(January might be devoted to marriage and family, for example, or work and recreation) - and I'll report on all the ways I try to improve. I'm gathering rules for living from everywhere I can: from Aristotle to Thoreau to Julie Morgenstern to my friends. I'll explain what works and what doesn't - and whether I end my year more virtuous and happy.
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