Episode #64: Gretchen Rubin on Happiness and Human Nature

Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential and thought-provoking observers of happiness and human nature. She’s known for her ability to convey complex ideas – from science to literature to stories from her own life – with levity and clarity.

Gretchen is the author of many books, which have sold millions of copies in more than thirty languages, and include five New York Times bestsellers: The Happiness Project, Better Than Before, The Four Tendencies, Happier at Home and Outer Order, Inner Calm. Her most recent book is Life in Five Senses.

Gretchen is host of the popular podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin, which has more than 220 million downloads, and is founder of the award-winning Happier app, which helps people track their happiness-boosting habits.

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Links:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• TikTok
• Facebook
• Course: The Happiness Project
• App: Happier
• Podcast: Happier with Gretchen Rubin
• Gretchen’s happiness quizzes
• Latest book: Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World (2023)
• New York Times bestseller: The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun (2009)

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction to Gretchen Rubin
02:09 - Defining Happiness
06:04 - Practical Approaches to Happiness
08:18 - Key Elements for Building Happiness
12:37 - Feeling Good, Feeling Bad, Feeling Right, and Growth
18:13 - The Usefulness of Terms like Flourishing
23:25 - Happiness Doesn't Always Mean Feeling Happy
31:47 - Identifying Key Habits for Happiness
35:56 - Unorthodox Strategies for Happiness
40:06 - The Value of Repetition and Familiarity in Happiness