A simple childhood memory of jubilation raises a lasting question: Is it better to persist with activities we dislike and struggle with, or pursue what comes naturally?

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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.

Introducing my new podcast: Since You Asked! This is the first episode of my new show with my friend, the therapist and author Lori Gottlieb. Each week, we tackle the daily problems of living—the pet peeve that’s annoyed you for years, the question you’re too embarrassed to ask, or the dilemma you just can’t solve. If you enjoy this episode, follow Since You Asked to get future episodes in your feed.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Since You Asked with Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin
• Have a question or advice to share? Leave a voicemail or write to us at thesinceyouaskedpodcast.com.
• Follow along with Gretchen (@gretchenrubin) and Lori (@lorigottlieb_author) on Instagram for the latest on the show.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.

We talk about why asking for clarification is so important—yet it’s an easy step to skip. We also mention a listener’s great hack for nudging her kids to unclutter, and we discuss the urge to “use it up.”

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Listen to the new podcast Since You Asked with Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin
• Elizabeth is reading: A Bad Day for Sorry by Sophie Littlefield (Amazon, Bookshop) 
• Gretchen is reading: The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. LeGuin (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.

Our five senses constantly make adjustments and compromises—an observation that explains a cryptic comment by Andy Warhol.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.

We explore whether it's better to seek out new experiences or enjoy familiar favorites when traveling. Plus, we share a surprising hack about alternatives to flossing, and how we’re approaching fall routines.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Learn your Tendency and learn more about the "Four Tendencies" framework
• "Dentists know you hate flossing. Try this instead."
• GUM soft-picks

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.

There are about 100 days left in the year, and we discuss why starting your 100-day countdown can make you happier. We also explore a hack that will help you read, learn, and get entertained, and we share interesting responses from listeners about the power of engaging.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• For the Happier Podcast Book Club: All the Way to the River: Love, Loss and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Joshua Rothman's New Yorker article "A.I. Is Coming for Culture"
• Listen to the new podcast Since You Asked with Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin
• Happier in Hollywood Substack 
• Secrets of Adulthood Substack 
• "Fall in Love with Your Next Novel" Quiz
• Elizabeth is reading: Actress of a Certain Age by Jeff Hiller (Amazon, Bookshop) 
• Gretchen is reading: The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman (Amazon, Bookshop)

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.

Texas’s extremely successful anti-littering campaign illustrates an important principle about habit change: Sometimes changing our habits requires us first to change our identity.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.

Feeling the end-of-summer slump? In this revisited episode, we share 7 practical strategies that can help you rebuild your routine for fall—especially if you're dragging your feet. September is the other January, and this “starter kit” for habit change will help you reset without forcing it.

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Better Than Before
• 21 strategies
• Episode 360

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.

We talk about why it can be very valuable to question our assumptions, and we also share hacks for helping a child moving into a college dorm.  Plus we discuss a listener’s feelings of Obliger-rebellion due to the unacknowledged work she does for her family. 

Resources & links related to this episode:

• Listen to the new podcast Since You Asked with Lori Gottlieb and Gretchen Rubin
• Love Life by Rob Lowe (Amazon, Bookshop)
• Four Tendencies quiz
• "Clear the Decks” bingo card
• Elizabeth is reading: We Might Just Make It After All: My Best Friendship with Kate Space by Elyce Arons (Amazon, Bookshop) 
• Gretchen is reading: Marry Him by Lori Gottlieb (Amazon, Bookshop)
  
  

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.

A teaching joke from the legal world captures an important lesson: Sometimes the reward for an achievement is simply a bigger helping of the same challenge.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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.