Happier with Gretchen Rubin

To begin to plan our aims for 2022, we discuss the “Vital 9,” the areas in which most people’s aims fall. We also consider a few know-yourself-better questions to help us imagine what we’d like to achieve in 2022—and get a hack from a listener about an easy way to make shoes more comfortable.  Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @Gret...

As we looked at children playing in the street, the taxi driver and I saw two different scenes. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM here: http://outerorderinnercalmbook.com Leave a voicema...

We discuss suggestions from listeners about suggestions for gifts that will help recipients to be happier, healthier, and more productive. We also talk about a listener’s suggestion about a way to incorporate gratitude into daily life. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email e...

When a friend quit her job to work as an artist, someone told her, “Now you’ll be working all the time.” Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM here: http://outerorderinnercalmbook.com Leave...

Announcing the new “Happier” app! Convenient, appealing, and intuitive, it offers many tools and strategies to help users to get happier. We also talk to Larry Smith about why writing a six-word memoir can boost your happiness, and share some imaginative Four-Tendencies hacks from listeners. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @Gretch...

The distinctive click of my shoes against marble connected me to two memories from different points in my life. Our five senses help to connect us to the present moment and our present experience, and they also connect us to our past.  Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretch...

Elizabeth suggests that you consider getting a dog (or a pet); she and her family have been joined by Nacho, a corgi! Tiffany Dufu suggests that we spend twenty minutes each day doing something that brings us joy, and we ask, “Are you a person who celebrates moments?” (like “Fantasy Island” being renewed for Season 2). Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in...

A woman told me her clever system for choosing the least-used stall in a public restroom, which reminded me that we’re more alike, and more different, than we imagine—because her system for outwitting the public is the same system that everyone else uses, too. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every...

Listeners suggest apps that help them to become happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative—and more organized with photographs. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Get the resources and all links related to...

A delightful story from the ancient world describes a contest between two artists that was decided in a surprising way. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM here: http://outerorderinnercalm...

For the Happier Podcast Book Club, we talk to Duke Divinity School professor Kate Bowler about her moving, funny, thought-provoking new memoir, “No Cure for Being Human” Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Get the resou...

A thought-provoking collection of proverbs from poker-players offers wisdom even to people who aren’t playing poker. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM here: http://outerorderinnercalmboo...

We discuss how we can make a choice (like an actor), how we can do a favor for our future selves, and we talk to Liz Lange about her podcast “The Just Enough Family,” where she explores her family’s spectacular successes, dramatic losses, and deep secrets. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast...

A friend didn’t want to spend Thanksgiving with his family, but he did it anyway. Happiness doesn’t always make us feel happy. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new book OUTER ORDER, INNER CALM here: http://outerorderin...

How do you stay happy when you suddenly decide it’s time for you and your daughter to move to a new town? And how do you make that decision in the first place? We talk to Elizabeth’s writing partner and co-host of the “Happier in Hollywood” podcast about how she made tough choices, managed logistics, dealt with strong emotions, and stayed healthy during a time of transition. Get in touch: @gretche...

We talk about why it can be helpful to consider, “Maybe this isn’t a bug, it’s a feature”; we discuss a hack for helping someone get situated in a new position, and we talk to Maya Shankar about how to deal with life’s big challenges. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email ev...

Author John Green’s reflection on the moment when he realized that he was no longer comforted by his teddy bear is a reminder that although we do outgrow much of the comfort we get from a warm, soft teddy bear, perhaps we don’t wholly outgrow it. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: ht...

We talk about why we should keep to-do lists in the way that’s right for us (and we discuss the “Tackle Box” that give five options), why sometimes it’s helpful not to fall into a routine, and we share listeners’ idea for unconventional celebrations.  Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show...

Nebraska’s hilarious tourist slogan demonstrates that it’s often most effective to admit the truth, even when that truth might not be terribly flattering or impressive. Have a sense of humor, be willing to poke fun at yourself or the situation, and admit the facts. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email...

We discuss strategies for escaping “zombie mode,” share a hack to make it easy for people to say “no,” and talk to Crystal Ellefsen about the know-yourself-better question of “What do you want to be known for?”  Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://g...

Mindy Kaling is a successful and productive writer, actor, and director. She’s hilarious and brilliant. In her “Rules for Writing,” she explains how to be funny—without being mean. Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Order a copy of Gretchen’s new...

We discuss a listener’s suggestion for an important way to help others, we talk about giving ourselves a “mercy week” during particularly busy or stressful times, and we talk to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper about his new book “Vanderbilt.” Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com/#newsletter Get the resources...

Writer Auberon Waugh tells the story of how his father, novelist Evelyn Waugh, ate the bananas—at that time, a very rare treat--intended for him and his sisters. “It would be absurd to say that I never forgave him, but he was permanently marked down in my estimation.” Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin Get the podcast show notes by ema...

We talk about why you should keep a journal in the way that’s right for you—and discuss several different journal options, depending on what kind of journal you want to keep. We also hear hacks for healthier eating from Cassy Joy Garcia, and check in with #Read21in21. Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin & @LizCraft Get the podcast show notes by email every week here: http://gretchenrubin.com...

In her brilliant memoir Truth and Beauty, Ann Patchett recalls how she helps a troubled friend by tapping into the power of the five senses: “Even if I couldn’t make Lucy deeply happy, I could provide the kind of happiness that would seem hollow if we had the money or the time to stay in it too long.” Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; podcast@gretchenrubin.com Get in touch on Instagram: @GretchenRubin...