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Gretchen Rubin Quotes | Quotes said by Gretchen Rubin

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #1

    ... one flaw throws the loveliness of [everything else] into focus. I remember reading that Shakers deliberately introduced a mistake into the things they made, to show that man shouldn't aspire to the perfection of God. Flawed can be more perfect than perfection.


  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #2

    Accept myself, and expect more of myself.
    Give myself limits to give myself freedom.
    Make people happier by acknowledging that they’re not feeling happy.
    Plan ahead to be spontaneous; only with careful preparation do I feel carefree.
    Accomplish more by working less.
    Happiness doesn’t always make me feel happy.
    Flawed can be more perfect than perfection.
    It’s very hard to make things easier.
    My material desires have a spiritual aspect.
    Hell is other people. Heaven is other people.

    What was “happiness,” anyway, and was it even possible to make myself happier?

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #3

    Although we presume that we act because of the way we feel, in fact we often feel because of the way we act.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #4

    As goofy as it sounds, I try to sing in the morning. It's hard both to sing and to maintain a grouchy mood, and it sets a happy tone for everyone - particularly in my case, because I'm tone deaf, and my audience finds my singing a source of great hilarity.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #5

    Audiences = expectations. If he thinks you're not watching, he won't need to rebel against your expectations.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #6

    By mindfully deciding how to act in line with my values instead of mindlessly applying my rules, I was better able to make the decisions that supported my happiness.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #7

    Each week, I post a video about some 'Pigeon of Discontent' raised by a reader. Because, as much as we try to find the 'Bluebird of Happiness,' we're also plagued by those small but pesky 'Pigeons of Discontent.'

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #8

    Enthusiasm is a form of social courage.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #9

    Experts say that denying bad feelings intensifies them, acknowledging bad feelings allows good feelings to return.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #10

    Growing up in Kansas City, I was always neat, the teacher's pet, know-it-all type.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #11

    Habit allows us to go from 'before' to 'after,' to make life easier and better. Habit is notorious - and rightly so - for its ability to direct our actions, even against our will; but by mindfully shaping our habits, we can harness the power of mindlessness as a sweeping force for serenity, energy, and growth.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #12

    Happiness is a critical factor for work, and work is a critical factor for happiness. In one of those life-isn't-fair results, it turns out that the happy outperform the less happy. Happy people work more hours each week - and they work more in their free time, too.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #13

    I always had the uncomfortable feeling that if I wasn't sitting in front of a computer typing, I was wasting my time--but I pushed myself to take a wider view of what was productive. Time spend with my family and friends was never wasted.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #14

    I enjoy the fun of failure. 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

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #15

    I had everything I could possibly want -- yet I was failing to appreciate it. Bogged down in petty complaints and passing crises, weary of struggling with my own nature, I too often failed to comprehend the splendor of what I had.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #16

    I should pursue only those habits that would make me feel freer and stronger.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #17

    I started thinking more about music. I thought I'd accepted the fact that, as part of Being Gretchen, I didn't really like music, but in fact, the truth was slightly different: I thought I didn't like music, but in fact, I didn't approve of my own taste--I wished I liked sophisticated music, like jazz or classical or esoteric rock. Instead, my taste ran mostly to what might play on a lite FM station. Oh, well. Be Gretchen.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #18

    I think adversity magnifies behavior. Tend to be a control freak? You'll become more controlling. Eat for comfort? You'll eat more. And on the positive, if you tend to focus on solutions and celebrate small successes, that's what you'll do in adversity.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #19

    I'd always vaguely expected to outgrown my limitations.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #20

    If I can do something in less than one minute, I don't let myself procrastinate. I hang up my coat, put newspapers in the recycling, scan and toss a letter. Ever since I wrote about this rule in 'The Happiness Project,' I've been amazed by how many people have told me that it has made a huge difference in their lives.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #21

    If we want something to count in our lives, we should figure out a way to count it.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #22

    In the scope of a happy life, a messy desk or an overstuffed coat closet is a trivial thing, yet I find - and I hear from other people that they agree - that getting rid of clutter gives a disproportionate boost to happiness.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #23

    It was my interest in happiness that led me to the subject of habits, and of course, the study of habits is really the study of happiness. Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life, and a significant element of happiness.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #24

    It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that if you have something you love or there's something you want, you'll be happier with more.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #25

    Laughter is more than just a pleasurable activity...When people laugh together, they tend to talk and touch more and to make eye contact more frequently.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #26

    Like most people, I have several pet subjects - that may or may not be interesting to other people. Don't get me started on happiness, or habits, or children's literature, or Winston Churchill, unless you really want to talk about it.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #27

    mere acquisition isn't enough to establish a good habit

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #28

    Nature is impersonal, awe-inspiring, elegant, eternal. It's geometrically perfect. It's tiny and gigantic. You can travel far to be in a beautiful natural setting, or you can observe it in your backyard - or, in my case, in the trees lining New York City sidewalks, or in the clouds above skyscrapers.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #29

    Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they're big, flashing signs that something needs to change.

  • Gretchen Rubin Quote #30

    Never start a sentence with the words 'No offense.

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