Gretchen Rubin's Blog, page 271

"Wonder Woman, Rumi, and Erin Brockovich."

From time to time, I post short interviews with interesting people about their insights on happiness. During my study of happiness, I've noticed that I often learn more from one person's highly idiosyncratic experiences than I do from sources that detail universal principles or cite up-to-date studies. I'm much more likely to be convinced to try a piece of advice urged by a specific person who tells me that it worked for him or her, than by any other kind of argument.

I "met" (virtually)

A Secret to Happiness: Clean Off My Desk.

One of the big insights I've gained from my happiness project is that for me (as for many people), outer order contributes to inner calm. I feel more serene and cheerful if my apartment and office aren't too messy.

Something else I've learned from my happiness project is to be wary whenever I have the urge to "treat" myself, because often my treats don't make me happy in the long run. One of my "treats" is to let piles of papers, clothes, books, and dishes pile up – which does indeed end up...

"Well-being is Attained Little by Little..."

"Well-being is attained by little and little, and nevertheless is no little thing itself."

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I loved this post on Escape from Cubicle Nation, Tiny steps make major leaps. Pamela Slim describes how she coaxed herself back into her exercise routine -- and how that process parallels efforts to find "career fitness."

* I send out short monthly newsletters that highlight the best of the previous month's posts to about 32,000 subscribers. If you'd like to sign up, click here or...

I Was on the Today Show This Morning...

This morning, Ann Curry interviewed me on the Today show. Thrilling! (Also slightly terrifying.)

I can't bear to watch myself on television, so I haven't watched my part -- though I really enjoyed the conversation. But the highlight, for me, was the short video Today created of me talking about my epiphany that "The days are long, but the years are short," accompanied by photos and footage of my daughter. When they played it in the studio as the introduction to the interview, I couldn't...

Buy Needful Things.

I'm working on my Happiness Project, and you could have one, too! Everyone's project will look different, but it's the rare person who can't benefit. Join in -- no need to catch up, just jump in right now. Each Friday's post will help you think about your own happiness project.

I'm an under-buyer (as opposed to an over-buyer). That means I have trouble prodding myself to buy things, even things I absolutely need, like contact-lens solution. When I do buy, I buy as little as possible (even...

Newsflash! THE HAPPINESS PROJECT Hit the New York Times Bestseller List! #2!

I'm in shock. I just found out. My book, The Happiness Project, hit #2 on the New York Times bestseller list, its first week out in the world.

This is one of the HAPPIEST moments of my professional career! I'm beyond thrilled!

Thank you, my dear readers, for your enthusiasm and everything you've done to support The Happiness Project. Thank you!

Now I'm off to jump around the room with joy!

Seven – Maybe – Tips For Avoiding an Office Affair.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.

A friend told me that when she started her job at a big company a few years ago, a family friend, who also worked there, pulled her aside to give her some advice.

Many people in their workplace had affairs, he said, and he'd seen lots of marriages break up. He'd kept his own marriage strong by following five rules about the workplace, and he urged her to keep the same rules:

1. Never take a first...

"Gratitude, Appreciation, Dale Carnegie -- and Business Trips."

Through a mutual friend, I became acquinted with Alexandra Levit and her writing – she's a career columnist for the Wall Street Journal. Much of her work focuses on helping people find and succeed in meaningful jobs. Her brand-new book (we have the same pub date!) is New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career. It's a great resource for anyone who is figuring out whether, what, and how to change careers.

A career shift is one of the most difficult, and also most...

Why I'd Rather Be Enthusiastic Than Confident.

Lately, I've been thinking about enthusiasm. I've become increasingly convinced of the importance of enthusiasm to happiness.

Enthusiasm is energetic, positive, generous, and social. It's outward-turning and engaged. It's kind of goofy.

As one of my happiness-project experiments, I tried putting sticky notes throughout the apartment with two key adjectives to keep in mind as I went through my day. In my office, the sticky note originally said, "Creative and confident." But as I thought...

"We Always Get Dirty Again, To Be Sure..."

"Man's partial good resolutions that always succumb to ingrained habit are like the cleaning, scrubbing and adorning that we practice on Sundays and feast days. We always get dirty again, to be sure, but such a partial cleaning process has the advantage of upholding the principle of cleanliness."

A good reminder not to be too discouraged if we don't manage to keep our resolutions all the time. Partial good resolutions are worthwhile, too.

* I'm always interested to read about the...