When I first started this newsletter, I called it Everyday Run State. At the time, that made perfect sense to me. It came from my operations background and this idea that there’s a calm place where things are working the way they’re supposed to. Unfortunately, it also sounded like a newsletter about jogging. Which, as we are all very aware, it is not.
Over time, as I kept writing each week, something became clearer and clearer to me. Most of what I’m actually interested in isn’t operations for the sake of operations. It’s happiness. Not big dramatic happiness. Small, practical, repeatable things that make your days feel a little better. Things you can adjust. Things you can experiment with. Things you can build into your life over time.
I was explaining all of this to my mentor, who has a background in psychology and is also an incredible marketer. She asked if I had heard of The Happiness Project. Of course I had, because I am a sucker for any and all books of that ilk. Then she said, “It sounds like what you’re really building is a happiness process.” And I immediately thought. Yes. That’s exactly it. So, this newsletter has a new name:
A Happiness Process
I’m SO excited about this change. It feels much closer to what I’ve been trying to do here all along, even before I had the language for it. The idea that happiness isn’t something you either have or don’t have. It’s something you can design, practice, and can evolve.
It will be the same newsletter, sent out on Wednesdays (except for when I accidentally schedule it for the wrong day.) You won’t be getting additional notifications from me. Now, there will just be a title that actually matches what we’re doing here.
There are two big updates happening outside of the newsletter itself.
First, you can now comment directly on the web version of each post. So if something resonates with you, if you have a different perspective, or if there’s something that has worked well for you personally, I would really love to hear it. A lot of the best ideas in this newsletter have come from conversations with readers, and my hope is that this makes those conversations easier and more visible for everyone. Just click the little Read Online button in the top right corner of any article to get to the Web Version.
Then, scroll to the bottom and look for the comment section. You will need to be logged in as a subscriber to comment.
Second, there’s now a companion website:
This is something I vibe coded in an absolutely frenzy over the last few days (THE IRONY) and I’m pretty excited with how it turned out. I’ll be adding things there that don’t always fit neatly into a newsletter. Book recommendations, readings I’m thinking about, small experiments I’m trying, and ideas that are still forming but feel worth sharing anyway.
Mostly, I just want to say thank you. To everyone who has replied, commented, texted me, or told me they enjoy reading this each week. This has become one of my favourite things to work on, and it means a lot to know it’s useful or interesting or encouraging to someone else on the other side.
Happiness is something I’m so curious about. What it means for each of us individually. How it changes over time. What actually works in real life, not just in theory. I’m excited to keep learning from all of you and sharing a happiness process.
