The biggest waste of time is to do well something that we need not do at all. — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Remember that although the distinction can be difficult to draw, loneliness and solitude are different. — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Getting paperwork under control makes me feel more in control of my life generally. — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
I have a lucky perfume. I love beautiful smells, but I save one of my favorite perfumes to wear only when I… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
In 'Before and After,' I identify the sixteen strategies that we can use to make or break our habits. Some are quite… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Happiness is a critical factor for work, and work is a critical factor for happiness. In one of those life-isn’t-fair results, it… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Lower the bar. Actually spending ten minutes clearing off one shelf is… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
We can use decision-making to choose the habits we want to form, use willpower to get the habit started, then - and… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Superstition is the irrational belief that an object or behavior has the power to influence an outcome, when there's no logical connection… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Nature is impersonal, awe-inspiring, elegant, eternal. It's geometrically perfect. It's tiny and gigantic. You can travel far to be in a beautiful… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
When we don't get any treats, we feel depleted, resentful, and angry, and we feel justified in self-indulgence. We start to crave… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Some kind of clutter is difficult - letting go of things with sentimental value, sifting through papers - but some clutter I… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
When Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's government fell in May 1940, the nation turned to Churchill. At last, his unique qualities were brought… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
I've found that I snack less and concentrate better when I chew on a plastic stirrer - the kind that you get… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Sometimes, counter-intuitively, it's easier to make a major change than a minor change. When a habit is changing very gradually, we may… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Often, if there's something that I want to do, but somehow can't get myself to do, it's because I don't have clarity.… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
No leader did more for his country than Winston Churchill. Brave, magnanimous, traditional, he was like a king-general from Britain's heroic past.… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
We need to have intimate, enduring bonds; we need to be able to confide; we need to feel that we belong; we… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Turn off your email; turn off your phone; disconnect from the Internet; figure out a way to set limits so you can… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
“Second Splendid Truth One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
Knowing what you admire in others is a wonderful mirror into your deepest, as yet unborn, self. — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
Being taken for granted is an unpleasant but sincere form of praise. Ironically, the more reliable you are and the less you complain, the… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
“one Secret of Adulthood is “Never start a sentence with the words ‘No offense’”? “And” — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
One of the findings that really interests me is that, although we think we ACT because of the way we FEEL, we often FEEL… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
We all want to get along well with other people, and one way to do this is to help people feel good about themselves.… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
During my study of happiness, I noticed something that surprised me: I often learn more from one person's highly idiosyncratic experiences than I do… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
There is a preppy wabi-sabi to soft, faded khakis and cotton shirts, but it's not nice to be surrounded by things that are worn… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
“There are times in the lives of most of us,” observed William Edward Hartpole Lecky, “when we would have given all the world to… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
“I started thinking more about music. I thought I'd accepted the fact that, as part of "Being Gretchen," I didn't really like music, but… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
If you've had something for more than six months, and it's still not repaired, it's clutter. — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
“The pleasure of doing the same thing, in the same way, every day, shouldn't be overlooked. The things I do every day take on… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
Although we often assume that feelings inspire actions, in fact, actions also inspire feelings. By pushing myself to act happier, I make myself feel… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
“After someone's death, how strange to see the value drain away from his or her possessions; useful objects such as clothes, or dish towels,… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share
