Feelings follow actions. If I'm feeling low, I deliberately act cheery, and I find myself actually feeling happier. If I'm feeling angry at someone, I do something thoughtful for her and my feelings toward her soften. This strategy is uncannily… — 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 familiar, such as 'Monitoring,' 'Scheduling,' and 'Convenience.' Some took me a lot of effort to identify, such as… — 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 Image
Knowing what you admire in others is a wonderful mirror into your deepest, as yet unborn, self. — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
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 Image
“one Secret of Adulthood is “Never start a sentence with the words ‘No offense’”? “And” — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
“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 Image
“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 Image
If you've had something for more than six months, and it's still not repaired, it's clutter. — Gretchen Rubin Copy Share Image
“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 Image
