“Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life, and a significant element of happiness. If we have habits that work for us,… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Think about what kind of person you are and shape your habits, and your happiness, to show what's true about you instead… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
I'm doing a lot of speaking and talking about habits, which is this subject that obsesses me. That's a lot of fun. — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Keeping a habit, in the smallest way, protects and strengthens it. I write every day, even if it's just a sentence, to… — 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
When we're trying to form and keep habits, we often search - even unconsciously - for loopholes. We look for justifications that… — 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
A 'treat' is different from a 'reward,' which must be justified or earned. A treat is a small pleasure or indulgence that… — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
Habit allows us to go from 'before' to 'after,' to make life easier and better. Habit is notorious - and rightly so… — 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
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
I think the big myth about habits, and happiness too, is that there's somehow a magic "one size fits all" solution. That,… — 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
We tend to overestimate what we can do in a short period, and underestimate what we can do over a long period,… — 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
