Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Whether you’re facing a full social calendar, interacting with challenging relatives, or missing a loved one, we share our favorite insights on navigating this sometimes-difficult season.

Episode Highlights:

Say yes to holiday invitations when you can [01:14]

Make room for grief during the holidays[05:28]

Why doing what’s right doesn’t always feel happy [09:26]

Try This at Home: set a realistic holiday intention [11:49]

Mentioned in this episode:

The Eight Splendid Truths of Happiness

The Strategy of Safeguards

Write your own Personal Commandments

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Website: gretchenrubin.com

Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft

Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why lowering your standards isn’t the answer, how to call friends without making it weird, and does it matter if everyone orders the same thing at a restaurant?

Episode highlights

Try This at Home: Right-size your expectations. [00:14]

Know Yourself Better: Do you split dishes with your dining partner, or order the same thing? Plus, a few restaurant hacks [00:24]

Demerits & Gold Stars: Gretchen left her backpack in an Uber [00:50]

Mentioned in this Episode

Notarize, an online notary service

Ep. 602, on spending money at home instead of on a vacation

Take the Five-Senses Quiz

Take the Gift-Giving Quiz

Life in Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin (Amazon, Bookshop)

Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen by Bob Greene (Amazon, Bookshop)

1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World by Liaquat Ahamed (Amazon, Bookshop)

Dad, Love, Me by Matthew Quick (Amazon, Bookshop)

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Website: gretchenrubin.com

Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft

Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I can’t let go of a mistake I made, I take comfort in the stories of highly skilled teams who made mistakes of their own.



Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Website: gretchenrubin.com

Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft

Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fun of monoculture, a secret theme behind Steven Spielberg’s movies, and Jeff Probst visits a Survivor Fantasy League.

Episode highlights

Something Making Us Happier: Halloween decorations and a special Survivor Fantasy League guest visit [00:36]

I’ve Been Meaning to Ask You: Why seeing a movie in a theater beats watching at home [09:42]

I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You: Gretchen reveals Steven Spielberg’s secret theme [18:39]

Mentioned in this Episode

Youglish

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Website: gretchenrubin.com

Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft

Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 610: Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling thriller author with over 100 million books in print and many hit TV adaptations, talks about his new book, Plot Twist, messy first drafts, how fiction is memoir, and the simple trick that leaves him with no excuses.

Episode highlights

Why bestselling novelist, Harlan Coben, wrote a memoir about the writing life, and how the process differed from his other books. [04:33]

“Fiction is memoir, and memoir is fiction.” [06:27]

Whether you want to pursue writing, sculpting, or painting, it’s never too late. [16:38]

Why characters don’t have to be likeable, and how “incremental ambition” helps you keep going. [32:00]

Listener questions (and Harlan Coben’s answers) about modern technology in plotting, working with Reese Witherspoon, and book cover art [22:12]

Mentioned in this Episode

Plot Twist: Life, Craft, and the Messy First Draft by Harlan Coben (Amazon, Bookshop)

Harlan Coben’s novels

Evaporated: Gone with the Gods podcast, about Japan’s “johatsu” (people who deliberately vanish)

NYT profile of Harlan Coben

Haruki Murakami and the baseball game where he decided to write a novel

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Website: gretchenrubin.com

Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft

Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices