Quotes from Gretchen Rubin

I had everything that I could wish for; I wanted to make my home happier by appreciating how much happiness was already there.

You hate your destination so much you want to postpone showing up for as long as possible.

For a happy life, it's important to cultivate an atmosphere of growth—the sense that we're learning new things, getting stronger, forging new relationships, making things better, helping other people. Habits have a tremendous role to play in creating an atmosphere of growth, because they help us make consistent, reliable progress.

getting one extra hour of sleep each night would do more for a person's daily happiness than getting a $60,000 raise.

Experts say that denying bad feelings intensifies them; acknowledging

Procrastinators can't make themselves work—often, ironically, because they're so anxious about work that they have to distract themselves from it—but they can't enjoy free time, either, because they know they should be working. A regular work schedule can help procrastinators because progress and engagement relieve their anxiety.

Happiness," wrote Yeats, "is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing." Contemporary researchers make the same argument: that it isn't goal attainment but the process of striving after goals—that is, growth—that brings happiness.

The very words we choose to characterize our habits can make them seem more or less appealing. Engagement time sounds more interesting than than email time; playing the piano sounds more fun than practicing the piano;

Being asleep is a great way to avoid being critical.

A study of workers in various industries showed that their job satisfaction was less tied to their salaries than to how their salaries compared to their coworkers' salaries. People understand the significance of this principle: in one study, a majority of people chose to earn $50,000 where others earned $25,000, rather than earn $100,000 where others earned $250,000.

Keep in mind that to avoid loneliness, many people need both a social circle and an intimate attachment. Having just one of two may still leave you feeling lonely.

It's a Secret of Adulthood: Happiness doesn't always make you feel happy.

People's biggest worries include financial anxiety, health concerns, job insecurity, and having to do tiring and boring chores.

A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules."—Anthony Trollope

It's fun to fail, I kept repeating. It's part of being ambitious; it's part of being creative. If something is worth doing, it's worth doing badly.

Although people believe they like to have lots of choice, in fact, having too many choices can be discouraging.

Each day gave me a new opportunity to push the task off until tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'd feel like dealing with it. "Start now," I finally thought. "Just take the first step." I started with the smallest possible step

Money. It's a good servant but a bad master.

And there's one reason, in particular, that habits help to preserve our self-control. In ordinary terms, a "habit" is generally defined as a behavior that's recurrent, is cued by a specific context, often happens without much awareness or conscious intent, and is acquired through frequent repetition.

One of the persistent follies of human nature is to imagine true happiness is just out of reach.

In general, happiness doesn't make people want to drink daiquiris on the beach; it makes them want to help rural villagers gain better access to clean water.

And of course, arriving at one goal usually reveals another, yet more challenging goal. Publishing the first book means it's time to start the second. There's another hill to climb. The challenge, therefore, is to take pleasure in the "atmosphere of growth

To you Upholders, thanks in advance for cooperating with my request for promptness. Questioners, I gave you a bunch of reasons for why you need to show up on time at all the meetings. To you Obligers, I'm watching you, and I'm counting on you to be there promptly. Rebels, save it for the bar later." Exactly!

Maintain a big stack. I find that I read much more when I have a pile waiting for me. Right now, I have to admit, my stack is so big that it's a bit alarming, but I'll get it down to a more reasonable size before too long.