Pouring out ideas is better for creativity than doling them out by the teaspoon. Gretchen Rubin More Quotes by Gretchen Rubin More Quotes From Gretchen Rubin Happiness can seem like an abstract, transcendent notion, but in fact, I found that getting enough sleep (very important!!), getting exercise, not letting myself get too hungry, not letting myself get too cold (I'm a person who is always cold), made a big difference. Partly because I felt happier, partly because feeling physically comfortable makes it easier to keep other difficult happiness-boosting resolutions like biting my tongue. Gretchen Rubin differencesexercisesleep A 'treat' is different from a 'reward', which must be justified or earned. A treat is a small pleasure or indulgence that we give to ourselves just because we want it. Treats give us greater vitality, which boosts self-control, which helps us maintain our healthy habits. Gretchen Rubin healthy-habitsselfgiving Money. It's a good servant but a bad master. Gretchen Rubin pranayamarichesmoney We can use decision-making to choose the habits we want to form, use willpower to get the habit started, then - and this is the best part - we can allow the extraordinary power of habit to take over. At that point, were free from the need to decide and the need to use willpower. Gretchen Rubin decisionuseneeds People in religions that teach that believers in other faiths are condemned, for example, tend to have lower life satisfaction. People who believe in heaven and hell tend to be less happy than those believe only in heaven. Gretchen Rubin heavenbelievepeople The First Splendid Truth: To be happy, I need to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth. Gretchen Rubin feel-goodhappinessthinking The most reliable predictor of not being lonely is the amount of contact with women. Time spent with men doesn't make a difference. Gretchen Rubin differenceslonelymen Do good, feel good; feel good, do good. Gretchen Rubin feel-goodfeels 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 effective. Gretchen Rubin angry-at-someonethoughtfulfeelings When I find myself focusing overmuch on the anticipated future happiness of arriving at a certain goal, I remind myself to 'Enjoy now'. If I can enjoy the present, I don't need to count on the happiness that is (or isn't) waiting for me in the future". Gretchen Rubin arrivinggoalwaiting To eke out the most happiness from an experience, we must anticipate it, savor it as it unfolds, express happiness, and recall a happy memory. Gretchen Rubin stages-of-griefhappinessmemories Say “no” only when it really matters. Wear a bright red shirt with bright orange shorts? Sure. Put water in the toy tea set? Okay. Sleep with your head at the foot of the bed? Fine. Samuel Johnson said, “All severity that does not tend to increase good, or prevent evil, is idle." Gretchen Rubin parentingfeetsleep I always had the uncomfortable feeling that if I wasn't sitting in front of a computer typing, I was wasting my time - but I pushed myself to take a wider view of what was "productive." Time spent with my family and friends was never wasted. Gretchen Rubin uncomfortable-feelingviewsfeelings The thing that inspires me most is reading and just observing the people around me. I think those are the two things that make me want to write. Gretchen Rubin readingwritingthinking Studies show that aggressively expressing anger doesn't relieve anger but amplifies it. On the other hand, not expressing anger often allows it to disappear without leaving ugly traces. Gretchen Rubin leavingangerhands One reason that challenge brings happiness is that it allows you to expand your self - definition. You become larger. Suddenly you can do yoga or make homemade beer or speak a decent amount of Spanish. Research shows that the more elements make up your identity, the less threatening it is when any one element is threatened. Gretchen Rubin yogaselfbeer [Benjamin Franklin]identified thirteen virtues he wanted to cultivate--temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility--and made a chart with those virtues plotted against the days of the week. Each day, Franklin would score himself on whether he practiced those thirteen virtues. Gretchen Rubin humilityjusticeorder Reading makes me want to write my own books, and just trying to understand what I see in the world around me makes me want to figure things out. Gretchen Rubin readingwritingbook Outer order contributes to inner calm. Gretchen Rubin calmorder When you work regularly, inspiration strikes regularly. Gretchen Rubin strikesinspiration
