Book Review: The Happiness Project One-Sentence Journal by Gretchen Rubin

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 I am not really a committed person, well, I mean I am committed but I tend to focus on one thing and one thing only at a time. I focus all my energy on that one commitment. I made myself keep a journal, but unlike most people I actually keep 2 journals one for the happy and one for the sad times. But to be honest, the happy times journal didn't have much inside, the sad one containing pages and pages in script without much spacing. You could say I am battling depression and low self-esteem.  But then I got this book, the 5 - year journal one by Gretchen Rubin (I will read her Happiness Project book when I get my hands on it) wherein you just put one sentence a day. There isn't much hassle and it actually kept my suicidal, depressing state at bay. With one sentence a day, I thought of the best thing that happened during that day, who would want to remember something sad say, in 5 years or so right? and that one short phrase or sentence made me grateful for what I have, even if its just complete nonsense. The small things, a piece of dialogue, normal happenings, small achievements. Recollection is very important, and keeping this type of journal is key especially for those who are battling depression, otherwise why would journals be invented, right? This is not a marketing stunt, this is just my opinion, based on experience and on how I keep negativity away. Hell, you don't even have to buy this, just keep a one-sentence journal and stick to it. I bought this because I liked the layout and how you could see under one date the 5 years you've written. This actually replaced my 2 journals!

Keeping in mind that you only have space for 1 sentence a day you would be inclined to pick the best memory of the day. You would be able to practice a "small win" mentality or "salami technique" which is basically setting achievable, short-term goals. Stop disqualifying the positive and magnifying the negative, have a sense of fulfillment upon finishing your commitment and in keeping this 5 year journey. Best of all, you would be able to recall what happened everyday for 5 years. You have something to look forward to and something to cherish in years to come and as Rubin says "The days are long but the years are short" so why waste something you could never earn back?

Hope this helps!