How to Hack Happiness With Gretchen Rubin
Gretchen Rubin practically invented the concept of hacking your happiness. In her blog and then in the best-selling book The Happiness Project, she experimented for years with how to find and maintain happiness in this crazy world.
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Discussion this week
Gretchen is also the author of Better Than Before and Happier at Home and hosts the Happier With Gretchen Rubin podcast , in which she discusses good habits of happiness with her sister Elizabeth. Gretchen is with us today to talk about how we can be happy and stay that way.
She gives us some tips on how to understand what makes us truly happy. For example, ask yourself this simple question: What did you do when you were ten? This may sound like a silly question – I don’t think playing Nintendo 64 is the key to my happiness as an adult – but it gets to the core of who you were before you were too busy with life itself.
You might also ask yourself the uncomfortable question: Who do you envy? Who do you know whose life seems better than yours? It’s probably embarrassing to actually say it, but it can shed light on what’s missing in your life and help you figure out what you really want. Listen to our chat with Gretchen to learn how to find some joy in your life.
Our weekly updates
Every week we like to wrap up the show with small improvements we’ve made to our lives. This week we are rolling out Annoying Bag and removing the clutter.
- Melissa : Melissa is cleaning annoying shit out of her life. A couple of times a year, she grabs what she calls a “bag of annoyance” and allows herself to throw away things that just get on her nerves, such as shoes that need repair or knick-knacks that only take up space. So overcome the sunk cost misconception and ditch the sauerkraut.
- Gretchen : Likewise, Gretchen is giving up all the old white T-shirts she had and replacing them with prettier ones. White shirts tend to age horribly, but we all feel a little guilty about throwing away things that are almost usable. Goodbye precious junk shirts; Gretchen put them in an annoying bag.
- Andy : By a pleasant seasonal coincidence, the sun shone brightly in my bedroom every morning, and I was happy to gradually wake up in the morning light without the need for an endlessly annoying alarm clock. It doesn’t actually happen all year round, but at this time of year, with this weather, all angles are correct.
How can I ask a question?
There are two ways to ask a question:
- Call (347) 687-8109 and write down the question. The calls are awesome! We love them and we can play yours on the show!
- Send your question to upgrade@lifehacker.com .
Try to keep your questions as short as possible. That means 3-5 sentences for emails and 30-60 seconds for calls and videos. Your questions may be specific, but broader questions are generally better because they apply to more people. In any case, we look forward to hearing from you.