Gretchen Rubin's Blog, page 277

Hugging Kids and Drinking Pinot Noir -- But Not Going Blonde.

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'm a new fan of the...

A Secret to Happiness That I Overlooked -- Until Now.

A significant factor in happiness is the hedonic treadmill, or hedonic adaptation.

People are adaptable. We quickly adjust to a new life circumstance—for better or worse—and consider it normal. Although this helps us when our situation worsens, it means that when circumstances improve, we soon become hardened to new comforts or privileges. Scoring air-conditioning, a bigger house, or a fancy title gives us only a brief boost in happiness before we start to take it for granted. As Aldous...

"Natural Inclinations...Are Hardly Ever Altered or Overcome."

"Natural inclinations are assisted and reinforced by education, but they are hardly ever altered or overcome."

-- Montaigne

This brief line from Montaigne is probably one of the top three biggest influences on the decisions I make as a parent -- along with the memory of my own upbringing and the book How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk.

* This post about My Current To-Do List on Citizen of the Month had me laughing out loud.

* I send out short monthly newsletters...

A Fundamental Secret to Happiness? Get Enough Sleep.

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've written before about my resolution to Get more sleep, and I'm bringing it up again, because I'm truly convinced that this is one of the first aspects of life to tackle when you start a happiness project.

It's easy...

Five Great "Don'ts" of a Happiness Project.

Every Wednesday is Tip Day.

Several people have said to me, "When you're making a resolution, it's better not to say 'No' or 'Don't' to yourself. You should keep it positive. Find ways to say 'yes'!"

I think there's some merit to thinking about resolutions this way – but I don't agree completely. First of all, sometimes it feels good to say "No" to yourself. For instance, I resolved No more drinking (mostly), and that resolution has...

Ask for Help: Want to Make a Short Video?

One of my surprisingly difficult happiness-project resolutions is to Ask for help – and now I'm asking.

The internet has changed a lot about publishing. There are many new ways to reach readers – and that means a lot of new tasks for writers. This can be daunting, at times, and I often remind myself of one of my most important happiness realizations: Novelty and challenge bring happiness.

One of the novel challenges facing me right now is the creation of a book trailer, which has been on my...

A Lovely Family Tradition…Suggested by the Author of FIGHT CLUB?

Two of my happiness-project resolutions are Take time for projects and Enjoy this seasons and this time of life. These are family-directed resolutions, meant to make sure that I put the time and effort into holidays, family projects, and fun outings.

I came up with these resolutions because the year before my happiness project, Halloween came and went without us carving a pumpkin, and I was utterly appalled by myself. To my mind, that's Mommy malpractice, even though my daughters didn't seem...

"When Happiness is Absent, We Do Everything to Possess It."

"We must, therefore, pursue the things that make for happiness, seeing that when happiness is present, we have everything; but when it is absent, we do everything to possess it."

-- Epicurus

This statement is much more challenging and mysterious than it appears on first glance. What things really brings happiness? How do we pursue those things?

* My friend Abigail Pogrebin's book, One and the Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I've Learned about Everyone's Struggle to Be...

A Secret to Happiness: Don't Try to Keep That Resolution.

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.

One of my Secrets of Adulthood (cribbed from Niels Bohr) is "The opposite of a great truth is also true." So whenever I'm very convinced that something is true, I ask myself, "Is the opposite also true?"

The main...

Take a Look at Some Other Happiness Projects. It's Not Just Me!

One of the most exciting things about working on my happiness project is seeing other people start their own happiness projects.

I get a real kick from seeing these happiness-project blogs, where people have taken my basic idea and run with it themselves -- taking the concept in so many different directions. Every happiness project is different; every one is fascinating. Check these blogs out yourself:

If you have a blog that's not on this list, please add yours to this simple form, and your...