Second, and even more thrilling, the Happiness Project Toolbox is finally ready for prime time. Yes, it’s ready! I’ve been working on this companion site for so long; it’s hard to believe it’s actually going out in the world at last.
What is the Happiness Project Toolbox? As I was working on my happiness project, I invented several methods that helped me to boost my happiness. My One-Sentence Journal, my Personal Commandments, my Secrets of Adulthood, and of course – most important of all – my Resolutions Chart.
I remember exactly where I was when I got the idea for the Toolbox. I was walking up Lexington Avenue, between 77th Street and 78th Street, when I thought, “Wow, it would be great to have a site where people could chart their resolutions.” About ten steps later, I thought, “But a site like that should also allow people to keep their one-sentence journals, or post their happiness hacks.” Then it hit me. A Happiness Project Toolbox! I was so struck by the idea that I literally stopped in my tracks – I remember that the woman behind me ran into me and shot me a very annoyed look as she passed.
It was easy to have the idea; hard to turn it into reality. As with so many things in life, if I’d known how challenging it would be, I might not have attempted it. But now that it’s ready, I’m so happy I did it.
Novelty and challenge bring happiness; they also bring frustration and anxiety. In this case, despite periods of frustration and anxiety, I also had a tremendous amount of fun – in large part because of the brilliant, creative people at The Chopping Block, the web design firm who built the site. They love the project, too – they wrote, “The Happiness Project Toolbox is easily among the best projects in our twelve-year history. We're excited about the potential for building of a large community audience.”
They had a lot of good ideas to add, and also helped me figure out if some of my ideas were possible. For example, I’ve always been mesmerized by PostSecret, and I’m fascinated whenever people post on my blog with their own Personal Commandments, etc. (for example, I think often of one commenter's Personal Commandment, "Choose the bigger life"), so one of my favorite Toolbox features is the ability to see other people's posts -- unless they choose to keep entries private, of course. It’s super-addictive to read other people’s Personal Commandments, browse through their Inspiration Boards, learn from their Happiness Hacks…utterly absorbing. (Use the bar across the top to see other people’s entries.)
The Happiness Project
Toolbox offers eight free Tools:
-- Resolutions: record and track your
resolutions.
-- Group Resolutions: challenge several people to
a group resolution.
-- One-Sentence Journal: keep a journal on any
subject you like (my online one-sentence journal is “What I’m
reading today”).
-- Personal Commandments: identify principles to
guide your life.
-- Secrets of Adulthood: record what you’ve
learned so far.
-- Happiness Hacks: share your hacks about
clutter, exercise, mindfulness, etc.
-- Lists Tool: keep any list -- to-do, favorite
things, things-to-do-before-I-die, etc.
-- Inspiration Board: pull together your favorite
books, quotations, images, and websites.
* If you'd like to work on your happiness project, but are more drawn to the idea of doing it with other people instead of using the Toolbox, sign up here for a starter kit for launching a group for people doing happiness projects. Groups have started from L.A. to Enid, Oklahoma, to Boston.
