Gretchen Rubin

Act the way you WANT to feel.

— Gretchen Rubin

Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

— Gretchen Rubin

Forbearance is a form of generosity.

— Gretchen Rubin

Relationships make me happy.

— Gretchen Rubin

Be a storehouse of happy memories.

— Gretchen Rubin

Look for happiness under your own roof.

— Gretchen Rubin

“day three days a week for six weeks,”

— Gretchen Rubin

Writing makes me happy.

— Gretchen Rubin

Guard your children's free time - from you.

— Gretchen Rubin

“The opposite of happiness is unhappiness, not depression.”

— Gretchen Rubin

Happiness: "You Bring Your Own Weather To The Picnic."

— Gretchen Rubin

If you want someone else to do a task, don't do it yourself.

— Gretchen Rubin

It's the task that's never started that's more tiresome.

— Gretchen Rubin

One of the most important lessons of childhood is discovering what you like to do.

— Gretchen Rubin

Work harder to appreciate your ordinary day.

— Gretchen Rubin

Flawed can be more perfect than perfection.

— Gretchen Rubin

In 'Happier at Home,' I write a lot about my struggle to create an unhurried atmosphere at home.

— Gretchen Rubin

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

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

To eke out the most happiness from an experience, we must anticipate it, savor it as it unfolds, express happiness, and recall…

— Gretchen Rubin

Enthusiasm is more important than innate ability, it turns out, because the single more important element in developing an expertise is your…

— Gretchen Rubin

Remember that although the distinction can be difficult to draw, loneliness and solitude are different.

— Gretchen Rubin

Laughter is more than just a pleasurable activity...When people laugh together, they tend to talk and touch more and to make eye…

— Gretchen Rubin

“Although we presume that we act because of the way we feel, in fact we often feel because of the way we…

— Gretchen Rubin

Try to never say 'yes' on the phone; instead, say, 'I'll get back to you.' When you're actually speaking to someone, the…

— Gretchen Rubin

I've always loved 'Before and After' stories, in books, magazines, and TV shows. Whenever I read those words, I'm hooked. The thought…

— Gretchen Rubin

Did I have a heart to be contented? Well, no, not particularly. I had a tendency to be discontented: ambitious, dissatisfied, fretful,…

— Gretchen Rubin

Habit allows us to go from 'before' to 'after,' to make life easier and better. Habit is notorious - and rightly so…

— Gretchen Rubin

Whenever I start a new book, I think, 'This is the most interesting subject of all time. It's sad, I'll never enjoy…

— Gretchen Rubin

One of my key realizations about happiness, and a point oddly under-emphasized by positive psychologists, given its emphasis in popular culture, is…

— Gretchen Rubin

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

People in religions that teach that believers in other faiths are condemned, for example, tend to have lower life satisfaction. People who…

— Gretchen Rubin

“My home should calm me and energize me. It should be a comforting, quiet refuge and a place of excitement and possibility.…

— Gretchen Rubin

“One flashy kind of commitment device is the “nuclear option.” A friend who enjoys experimenting with strategies of personal productivity used this…

— Gretchen Rubin

“My resolution to “Embrace good smells” has developed into a full-blown obsession. A few of my favorite perfumes: CB I Hate Perfume…

— Gretchen Rubin

I realize that in a happy life, making your bed should play a very small part, I don't know why this is…

— Gretchen Rubin

We tend to overestimate what we can do in a short period, and underestimate what we can do over a long period,…

— Gretchen Rubin

“Keep it simple' wasn't always the right response. Many things that boosted my happiness also added complexity to my life. Having children.…

— Gretchen Rubin

“Of course it's not enough to sit around wanting to be happy; you must make the effort to take steps toward happiness…

— Gretchen Rubin

“Happy people generally are more forgiving, helpful, and charitable, have better self-control, and are more tolerant of frustration than unhappy people, while…

— Gretchen Rubin