Thirty-two Is A Happy Number! Part 1

Source

Yes people, there is a concept called "a happy number". And apparently, there's more than one happy number, as 32 is the 9th happy number.

Serendipitous, I think, as I've "stumbled" twice on happiness books lately, and I just turned 32.

 Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bo Sanchez and The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

(Yes, I will now dive into cheesy-for-some territory. There might be unicorns and rainbows. You have been warned.)


Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bo Sanchez was the final gift of my "parent" during the Kris Kringle in the head office. The theme of the final gift was "something that your baby will surely like". I did like it, but I'm still wondering how my parent knew I'd like it :)

According to the book, there are 7 Secrets to Achieve Your Dreams and Enjoy Great Happiness Today (that's actually the book's byline hehe):

• Happy people create their destiny. They deliberately choose what they want to do and where they want to go.
• Happy people like themselves a lot. You've got stuff in you that are fantastic - and you need to take time to appreciate them.
• Happy people nurture connections. Create patterns of connection, be kind, prioritize people over money, and make others successful.
• Happy people find delight everywhere. Be an inverse paranoid.
• Happy people embrace change. Find your path, be content and desire growth and the same time.
• Happy people trust deeply. Let go, and expect blessings.
• Happy people work their life purpose daily. Make an inventory of your gifts, and let your greatness come out.

Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project is like Bo Sanchez' book on steroids. Obviously, as it is a thicker book, it has more tips, more insights, and more IRL examples. She spends a year working on different aspects on her life to make herself happier. Every month, she works on a particular aspect, in addition to the previous months' resolutions. So this is what she resolved to work on:

• Vitality - Boost energy
• Marriage - Remember love
• Work - Aim higher
• Parenthood - Lighten up
• Leisure - Be serious about play
• Friendship - Make time for friends
• Money - Buy some happiness
• Eternity - Contemplate the heavens
• Books - Pursue a passion
• Mindfulness - Pay attention
• Attitude - Keep a contented heart
• Happiness - Boot camp perfect (to follow all previous months' resolutions perfectly)

Then she has 12 Personal Commandments of Happiness, to help her keep her resolutions:

• Be Gretchen.
• Let it go.
• Act the way I want to feel.
• Do it now.
• Be polite and be fair.
• Enjoy the process.
• Spend out.
• Identify the problem.
• Lighten up.
• Do what ought to be done.
• No calculation.
• There is only love.

And with that, she discovered Four Splendid Truths about Happiness:

• First: To be happier, you have to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth.
• Second: One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.
• Third: The days are long, but the years are short. (click the link to see my one-minute movie)
• Fourth: You’re not happy unless you think you’re happy.

(See, I told you Gretchen has a lot more to say than Bo. Hehehe.)

So what does this have to do with me, my being 32, and 32 being a happy number?

Well, let's just say I'm embarking on my very own happiness project too.

To be continued...