Happier with Gretchen Rubin

I never forgot a story I read about a man and his eating habits, and how it illustrated an essential lesson: What we think is not possible may be possible, through the power of an idea. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every wee...

We talk about how making daily visits to the Metropolitan Museum have had unintended consequences. We also discuss a funny sign from the Hollywood picket line that plays on a famous scene from “Mad Men,” and how there’s a special pleasure in starting and finishing a book in a single day. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on Tik...

We’re trying something new for this episode: a fun “Clear the Decks” exercise. This time, e’re using it to help prepare to return to the usual routines after the summer, but it can be used any time we need to gear up for a change or challenge. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @...

As we go through our days, we can look for “desire paths”—the natural paths that emerge as we try to find the quickest and easiest way to get where we’re going. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/showno...

We talk about why we might take over a task that someone else particularly dislikes. We also mention that it’s a good idea to check passport expiration dates, and when it’s a bad idea to do or try something for the first time Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @GretchenRubin & @L...

Listening to the “Office Ladies” podcast reminds me of the psychological phenomenon of the fundamental attribution error. Both of which are good reminders not to judge others too quickly. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads Get the podcast show notes by email every w...

We talk about research into how people successfully flatter others, and how those insights can help us to build strong connections in our own relationships. We also talk about the fun TV show “Claim to Fame” and insights from the fun “What’s Your Neglected Sense?” quiz. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin...

We talk about how we can boost our happiness by escaping from our own taste. We also suggest an easy way to make it easier to remember challenging names, and share the many terrific metaphors that listeners suggested as alternatives to the “empty nest.” Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on I...

Idaho ghost towns have a problem with vandalism, because people think, “I’ll take this home so someone else doesn't steal it." I felt the same impulse when I visited a little unsupervised library during college. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram Get the podcast show notes by email every wee...

In this Very Special Episode, we explore the subject of regret. We talk about the most common categories of regrets and why reflecting on regret can help us make our lives happier. We share some of our own regrets, and also listeners’ regrets. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @...

An amusing paradox arose in real life: Steve Jobs put his autograph on a letter to tell someone that he didn’t sign autographs. Sometimes, in the process of saying we won’t do something, we do it. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast....

We talk about the silver lining of having a child away at summer camp. We also discuss how a happiness bully might “encourage” someone to work on their novel, and how to avoid choking up while giving a commencement address.  Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram @GretchenRubin & @Li...

We talk about how we can make planning easier by suggesting the default option of time and place when coordinating with other people. We also discuss the suggestion to skip a year of an enjoyable activity, if it starts to feel onerous, as a way to keep it fun. Plus we review even more everyday luxuries suggested by listeners. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @Gretche...

Looking at a ‘zine made by some friends decades ago made me realize an important truth—a truth I didn’t know that I knew. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life in Five Senses to see h...

In this bonus episode, listen to the commencement address I gave at my daughter’s Eleanor’s high-school graduation. To help the new graduates make sense of their experiences—both what they’ve experienced in the past and what they’ll experience in the future—I explore five essential paradoxes. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin o...

We talk about how we can boost our happiness by acting like teenagers (the good aspects of being a teenager). We also share a suggestion from a listener about how to cut down on using meal-delivery apps, and we answer listeners’ questions about writing. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on I...

In the New York Times, Connie Wang wrote about why so many families had named their daughters “Connie”: In the journalist Connie Chung, they saw the qualities and opportunities they wanted for their own children. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram Get the podcast show notes by email every we...

We talk about why and how we’re redoubling our efforts to work on our strength and stamina. We also try to figure out a better metaphor for the “empty nest,” and talk about a fun, easy way to keep a journal. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft on Instagram Get the podcast show notes by email e...

We talk about the fact that despite the widespread “reticence bias,” research suggests that we appear more likeable and interesting to a stranger when we talk more than half the time. We also discuss why it’s so important never to put anything in a text or email that we wouldn’t want to be made public, why it’s useful to eat before an important meeting, and share a terrific list of positive trends...

As IKEA, instant cake mixes, and meal-kit delivery services demonstrate, we often value things according to how much they cost us—whether that’s in time, money, energy, or imagination. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownote...

We use Halfway Day as a catalyst to reflect on how we’re doing with our aims for 2023. Each year, we choose a one-word theme, make a list of “23 in 2023” things we want to accomplish, and give ourselves an annual challenge, such as “Go Outside 23 in ’23”—a trifold approach that we’ve now dubbed the “Happier Trifecta.” Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin o...

People sometimes assume that happiness is boring—but as philosopher Simone Weil points out, while that may be true in literature, it’s not true in real life.  Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes Get Gretchen Rubin’s new...

We each explain a reason why summer is making us happier, why it’s important to break in our feet as well as our shoes, and why going “on pause” might be better than “stopping.” We also discuss the new “Five-Senses Journal” and how its design can to help us to become more mindful, more creative, more loving—and happier. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin...

We discuss why it’s helpful to start a new habit while on vacation, and why taking a few minutes to memorize key street names can make life easier for years to come. We also talk about why cultivating everyday luxuries can help us become happier and healthier, and we take a deep dive into listeners’ terrific examples of their own everyday luxuries. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on...

A man in Timbuktu laughed when he heard that that people think of the place as being very far away. Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram Get the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life in Five Senses to see how she discovered a su...