Quotes from Gretchen Rubin

This Doesn't Count" Loophole: We tell ourselves that for some reason, this circumstance doesn't "count.

do once in a while.

In their thought-provoking book Focus, researchers Tory Higgins and Heidi Grant Halvorson argue that people lean toward being "promotion-focused" or "prevention-focused" in their aims.

An Obliger boss explained Obliger fits perfectly with my organization's mission-driven and team-centered culture.

Lack of sleep negatively affects mood, memory, immune function, and pain sensitivity; it makes people more likely to fight with their partners; it contributes to weight gain.

There's no magic, one-size-fits-all solution to creating a happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative life; we can build a better life only on the foundation of our own nature, our own interests

When Obligers have the external accountability they need to meet their inner expectations, they don't experience any sense of limitation or self-frustration—and of course many environments, such as the workplace, tend to supply lots of accountability. When what others expect from Obligers is what they expect from themselves, they have the life they want.

So where should we start? It's helpful to begin with habits that most directly strengthen self-control; these habits serve as the Foundation for forming other good habits.

Concern for Others Loophole: We tell ourselves that we're acting out of consideration for others and making generous, unselfish decisions. Or we decide we must do something in order to fit into a social situation.

Plainness was not necessarily simplicity," Frank Lloyd Wright cautioned. "Elimination, therefore, may be just as meaningless as elaboration, perhaps more often is so. To know what to leave out and what to put in; just where and just how, ah, that is to have been educated in knowledge of simplicity." My

Happiness is a critical factor for work, and work is a critical factor for happiness.

and our own values." Is it

Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail, but everyday is a clean state and a fresh opportunity.

When you cannot express it in number, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind.

Then I wonder if some people need a coach more than a therapist," I said, thinking of Obligers.

Perhaps—like writing, leadership, and a sense of humor—good habits are something that must be learned, but can't be taught.

it's a Secret of Adulthood: things often get harder before they get easier—but I'd started.

sometimes, when people are willing to go with the flow on a collaborative team project, they view my need to ask questions as not showing team spirit

It is a sign of maturity not to be scandalized and to try to find explanations in charity.

Some people love finishing, and some people love opening—both literally and figuratively. Finishers love the feeling of bringing a project to completion, and they're determined to use the last drop in the shampoo bottle; Openers thrill to the excitement of launching a new project, and find pleasure in opening a fresh tube of toothpaste.

People don't notice your mistakes as much as you think.

He gave his assistant a stamped, addressed envelope with a check he'd written to an "anti-charity," an organization whose policies he passionately opposes, with the instruction to mail the check if he had a drink before the time was up.

Habit is a good servant but a bad master.

It's hard to do even simple things well, and most things aren't simple. As