Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 509: Happier Gift Guide: Great Gifts for the People We Love Nov 20, 2024

Show notes

We’re entering the season of gift-giving, so we suggest gift ideas in several categories: for rest and relaxation; for the home; for family members; for Gen Z children; and for readers.

Resources and links related to this episode:

“Abandon the Empty Nest. Instead, Try the Open Door.”

"Habits for Happiness" course

Gift Giving Quiz

Cozy Gifts for Rest & Relaxation

Elizabeth is reading: The Woman in Cabin Ten by Ruth Ware (Amazon, Bookshop)

Gretchen is reading: A Lost Lady by Willa Cather (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little Happier: Two Lessons: Enthusiasm Makes a Big Difference, and Resist the Fantasy Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

A friend’s wise observation gave me greater clarity as I considered a common challenge of parenthood: If and when we pressure a child to participate in an activity.

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

@GretchenRubin on TikTok

@GretchenRubin on Instagram

@GretchenRubin on Threads

Get the podcast show notes by email every week:happiercast.com/shownotes

Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest book Life in Five Senses to see how she discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available - order here.

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier App.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Happier: Hacks to Make Thanksgiving Easier & More Fun [Revisited] Nov 16, 2024

Show notes

For this episode of More Happier, we’re revisiting one of our Very Special Episodes - Hacks, Hacks, and More Hacks for Making Entertaining Easier and More Fun. With Thanksgiving coming up and the December holiday season just around the corner, we all usually find ourselves hosting more than usual. We gathered hacks from ourselves, our mother (who is great at entertaining), and listeners. So many great ideas! Cheers to a happy entertaining season.

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 508: Learn from Someone’s Mistake, Stay Connected in a Hard Time & Why Wednesday Is Special Nov 13, 2024

Show notes

We share listeners’ examples of important lessons they’ve learned from other people’s mistakes, and also what features make Wednesday a particularly enjoyable day of their week. Plus we discuss a practical suggestion for staying connected with loved ones after living through a natural disaster.

Resources and links related to this episode:

gretchenrubin.com/newsletter
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Elizabeth is reading: The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by Liza Mundy (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: Down the Garden Path by Beverly Nichols (Amazon, Bookshop)

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little Happier: After Hundreds of Visits to the Met, I Still Needed Someone to Show Me Nov 11, 2024

Show notes

During a visit to the Metropolitan Museum, a former museum guard showed me something interesting that I’d never noticed before, even though it was right in front of my eyes. Before, I didn’t see it; now I look for it every time.

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

@GretchenRubin on TikTok

@GretchenRubin on Instagram

@GretchenRubin on Threads

Get the podcast show notes by email every week:happiercast.com/shownotes

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Happier: New Traditions, The Idea of “House Trust,” and a Creative Gift Suggestions Nov 09, 2024

Show notes

Oxymoron alert: We talk about “new traditions” that have sprung up. We also talk about the interesting term of “house trust” and why we want it, and we discuss a gift idea that makes it easy to be creative and heartfelt—even if we have trouble putting your feelings into words.

Resources and links related to this episode:

Moment of Happiness Calendar
Horace, The Odes of Horace (Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 507: Happier Book Club: Elizabeth Strout Talks About Love & Secrets in “Tell Me Everything” Nov 06, 2024

Show notes

We talk to prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout about her acclaimed new novel, “Tell Me Everything.” In it, Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, and other characters return in connected stories of murder, marriage, parents and children, and love. This novel is thought-provoking and compulsively readable.

Resources and links related to this episode:

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
Gift Giving Quiz: gretchenrubin.com/quiz
Little Happier episode
Elizabeth is reading: Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little Happier: Sometimes, It’s a Good Idea to Say “I Know You Love Me” Nov 04, 2024

Show notes

We’re often told “Don’t put words in people’s mouths” or “Don’t tell other people what they feel,” but as these examples from “Game of Thrones” and “Terms of Endearment” illustrate, sometimes the tender thing to do is to say, “I know you love me.”

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Follow on social media:

@GretchenRubin on YouTube

@GretchenRubin on TikTok

@GretchenRubin on Instagram

@GretchenRubin on Threads

Get the podcast show notes by email every week:happiercast.com/shownotes

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More Happier: Finding Happiness in the Bittersweet with Susan Cain [Revisited] Nov 02, 2024

Show notes

We revisit a conversation with bestselling author Susan Cain, renowned author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking and Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole. We also talk about why we should be the one to make the plan, and a listener suggests a hack for making it easier to use online recipes.

Links:

The Quiet Life: A Journal by Susan Cain

Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 506: Find a Delight for Each Day, a Useful Travel Tip & Learning from Mistakes Oct 30, 2024

Show notes

We explore ways to make each day of the week special by recognizing small pleasures. We discuss a practical hotel checkout tip to avoid forgetting items. Also, we examine the value of allowing yourself to go into “shock” when facing big assignments or feedback, and how this pause can lead to clearer thinking and better responses. Plus we ask, “What lesson have you learned the hard way?”

Resources and links related to this episode:

Four Tendencies Personality Quiz: Are you an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel?
Happiness Hacks Card Deck
Elizabeth is reading: Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand (Amazon, Bookshop)
Gretchen is reading: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Amazon, Bookshop)