Gretchen Quotes

For most people, whenever possible, important habits should be scheduled for the morning. Mornings tend to unfold in a predictable way, and as the day goes on, more complications arise - ~ Gretchen Rubin

Remember that although the distinction can be difficult to draw, loneliness and solitude are different. ~ Gretchen Rubin

We are happy when we are growing. ~ Gretchen Rubin

His whole relationship with Gretchen was one long postcoital illusion ~ Chelsea Cain

Behind our unremarkable front door waits the little world of our making - our home. ~ Gretchen Rubin

It's hard to know really how it's going to happen, but the career ebbs and flows and now there's a nicer feeling of interest than there has been at other times. ~ Gretchen Mol

We all have skeletons in our closets. Some of us are just better at hiding them behind the hangers filled with clothes." "Yeah, right, you don't seem like the type of guy who has a pile of femur bones stuffed behind your collared shirts and navy blue blazers." Nick and Wilson ~ Gretchen De La O

Perfection may be an impossible goal, but habits help us to do better. Making headway toward a good habit, doing better than before, saves us from facing the end of another year with the mournful wish, once again, that we'd done things differently. ~ Gretchen Rubin

I'm constantly on the hunt for insights about happiness or ideas about how to be happier - which probably makes me a somewhat tiresome companion at times. ~ Gretchen Rubin

One reason that challenge brings happiness is that it allows you to expand your self - definition. You become larger. Suddenly you can do yoga or make homemade beer or speak a decent amount of Spanish. Research shows that the more elements make up your identity, the less threatening it is when any one element is threatened. ~ Gretchen Rubin

I love cunning containers as much as anyone, but I've found that if I get rid of everything I don't need, I often don't need a container at all. ~ Gretchen Rubin

A person with 'oppositional conversational style' is a person who, in conversation, disagrees with and corrects whatever you say. He or she may do this in a friendly way, or a belligerent way, but this person frames remarks in opposition to whatever you venture. ~ Gretchen Rubin

While television is a good servant, it's a bad master. It can swallow up huge quantities of our lives without much happiness bang for the buck. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Step by step, you make your way forward. That's why practices such as daily writing exercises or keeping a daily blog can be so helpful. You see yourself do the work, which shows you that you can do the work. Progress is reassuring and inspiring; panic and then despair set in when you find yourself getting nothing done day after day. One of the painful ironies of work life is that the anxiety of procrastination often makes people even less likely to buckle down in the future. ~ Gretchen Rubin

It is by studying little things, that we attain the great art of having as little misery and as much happiness as possible. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Good music is good music. ~ Gretchen Wilson

Because I watch everyone all the time? Because I'm more comfortable observing than doing?" -Meg ~ Gretchen McNeil

Sleep is the new sex. ~ Gretchen Rubin

I'm fearful when I push myself. It's a tough thing to do, but you need to acknowledge that you have what it takes to succeed. ~ Gretchen Bleiler

Gretchen took a beautiful mugshot. ~ Chelsea Cain

Something clicks in my brain. My heart instantly plummets to the bottom of my stomach, and I feel my face start to flush with new color.
I pull my head back and look up to meet his unparalleled eyes.
"Adam. ~ Gretchen Powell

Audrey shouldered her small weekend bag and gave Gretchen an odd look. "Where's all your bravery?"

"I didn't realize I was going to be living at frickin' Hogwarts! I - ~ Jessica Clare

Guard your children's free time - from you. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Progress, not perfection, is the goal. I'm a gold-star junkie, ~ Gretchen Rubin

I think music can heal your soul if you'll let it. It can also bring you up if you're down. It can also bring you down if you're too up. It's a mood thing. ~ Gretchen Wilson

I get such a buzz out of cleaning closets. ~ Gretchen Rubin

It struck me, in fact, that all of my work on habits and happiness was meant to help us construct, as much as possible, just that: everyday life in Utopia. Everyday life with deep, loving relationships and productive, satisfying work; everyday life with energy, health, and productivity; everyday life with fun, enthusiasm, and engagement, with as little regret, guilt, or anger as possible. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Arriving rarely makes you as happy as you anticipate.
p 84 ~ Gretchen Rubin

Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life. ~ Gretchen Rubin

I loved him so much, more than any moment or event could ever render. He was my air, my water, my blood pumping through my veins. I gave him every hidden spoke in my wheel. Every little thing that meant anything to me was nothing compared to him. To see him in so much pain cracked my soul. ~ Gretchen De La O

When scheduling a new habit, it helps to tie it to an existing habit, such as "after breakfast," or to an external cue, such as "when my alarm rings," because without such a trigger, it's easy to forget to do the new action. ~ Gretchen Rubin

They're just treats. Like Cookie Monster says, 'Cookies are a sometimes food.' Sometimes doesn't mean never." "You're quoting Cookie Monster?" Bev stared at him. "Somebody has to. ~ Gretchen Galway

Say "no" only when it really matters. Wear a bright red shirt with bright orange shorts? Sure. Put water in the toy tea set? Okay. Sleep with your head at the foot of the bed? Fine. Samuel Johnson said, "All severity that does not tend to increase good, or prevent evil, is idle. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Studies show that each common interest between people boosts the chances of a lasting relationship and also brings about a 2 percent increase in life satisfaction. ~ Gretchen Rubin

In an interview in the Paris Review, novelist and Rebel John Gardner made an observation that I've never forgotten: Every time you break the law you pay, and every time you obey the law you pay. ~ Gretchen Rubin

The most important step is the first step. All those old sayings are really true. Well begun is half done. Don't get it perfect, get it going. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Nothing is more exhausting than the task that's never started, and strangely, starting is often far harder than continuing. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Women are not on this planet exclusively to inspire men and make them happy. We have our own dreams and needs, our own shit to get done. ~ Gretchen McNeil

There is no Future-Gretchen, only Now-Gretchen. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Contrary to popular belief," Gretchen grumbled. "It's creepy to watch a girl while she sleeps."
Clint shrugged and smiled. "Sorry, I guess I should've just woken you up. ~ Aria Kane

When we try to form a new habit, we set an expectation for ourselves. Therefore, it's crucial to understand how we respond to expectations. ~ Gretchen Rubin

70 percent of long-term gym memberships are mostly unused, but a dog needs walking every day. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Hallo" , he said in a purr, looking Gretchen up and down in a way that raised my hackles. "What's your name, sweeting ? "
"Her name is No," I said at once. ~ Jeaniene Frost

Your unhappiness doesn't help anyone else - and in fact, as I mentioned in another answer, happy people are more altruistically inclined. So happiness is not a selfish goal. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Money. It's a good servant but a bad master. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Note: people weigh their highest on Sunday;14 their lowest, on Friday morning.) ~ Gretchen Rubin

I've noticed that some people are serial goal setters, rather than habit formers. ~ Gretchen Rubin

For one person, organized files might be a crucial tool for creativity; another person finds inspiration in random juxtapositions. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Eventually I learned to reject this advice. Somehow, I figured out that it was easier for me to resist certain temptations by never giving in to them. ~ Gretchen Rubin

And then he's grabbing my hand, and pulling me into a storage room they use for art supplies. And he puts his finger to his lips, and the walls are filled with pads of paper and boxes of colored pencils and jars of paint,
and I'm laughing
and he shuts the door behind us
and leans up against it to stop anyone coming in
and like he's trying to get up his nerve now that he's started something,
before we've ever gone to the dumplings and the movies -
he leans in and kisses me.
His lips are cold. The kiss is soft. He has gum in his mouth, and he stops, and giggles nervously, and takes it out and throws it in the trash can,
and looks like he feels embarrassed to have kissed me with the gum,
but I don't care,
and so now I kiss him,
and he's tall enough that he has to bend down to get to me,
and I put my hand on his neck, which is smooth and warm,
and we kiss for a minute in the storage room,and I want to run my hands up his shirt suddenly -
but I don't.
He pulls away for a second and touches my cheek.
"I thought you'd never ask," he whispers.
"I thought I never would either," I say, "but I did."
"Good job," he says, and kisses me again. ~ E. Lockhart

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

An enormous amount of ingenuity and creativity goes into commercials, and they can be fascinating if you pay attention. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen shrugged. "After seeing how he acted when she almost died, I'm starting to get why she's with him." Then her voice hardened. "And really, Leila. That's twice now. ~ Jeaniene Frost

You can love someone but not want to keep a gift from that person. It's okay to pass an item along to someone who will appreciate it more. ~ Gretchen Rubin

In the Strategy of Pairing, I couple two activities, one that I need or want to do, and one that I don't particularly want to do, to get myself to accomplish them both. It's not a reward, it's not a treat, it's just a pairing. ~ Gretchen Rubin

I needed to change the lens through which I viewed everything familiar. ~ Gretchen Rubin

For work: I bought some pens. Normally, I used makeshift pens, the kind of unsatisfactory implements that somehow materialized in my bag or in a drawer. But one day, when I was standing in line to buy envelopes, I caught sight of a box of my favorite kind of pen: the Deluxe Uniball Micro. "Two ninety-nine for one pen!" I thought. "That's ridiculous." But after a fairly lengthy internal debate, I bought four. It's such a joy to write with a good pen instead of making do with an underinked pharmaceutical promotional pen picked up from a doctor's office. My new pens weren't cheap, but when I think of all the time I spend using pens and how much I appreciate a good pen, I realize it was money well spent. Finely made tools help make work a pleasure. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. ~ Gretchen Rubin

The number one resolution that people mention to me as something that's made them happier is - to my surprise - making the bed. ~ Gretchen Rubin

... if only people experienced death earlier, they would know how important it is to show kindness to one another
Gretchen Haight ~ Emily W. Upham

Also, accomplishing small tasks boosts our sense of "self-efficacy." The more we trust ourselves to follow through on our own commitments, the more likely we are to believe that we can keep an important habit. ~ Gretchen Rubin

But I promise you I'll love you until the day I die.
Then he kissed her. His lips on hers were as light as a breath. And she couldn't stop the horrible thought that his touch felt like a farewell. ~ Anne Blankman

Once I started trying to give positive reviews, though, I began to understand how much happiness I took from the joyous ones in my life
and how much effort it must take for them to be consistently good=tempered and positive. It is easy to be heavy; hard to be light. We nonjoyous types suck energy and cheer from the joyous ones; we rely on them to buoy us with their good spirit and to cushion our agitation and anxiety. At the same time, because of a dark element in human nature, we're sometimes provoked to try to shake the enthusiastic, cheery folk out of their fog of illusion
to make them see that the play was stupid, the money was wasted, the meeting was pointless. Instead of shielding their joy, we blast it. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Beth will come back and coach Gretchen and Kailey on how to say the right things. I don't know if anyone is coaching the boys, but it seems unfair. Why do Gretchen and Kailey have to learn how to be the right kind of victims? ~ T.E. Carter

Turn off your email; turn off your phone; disconnect from the Internet; figure out a way to set limits so you can concentrate when you need to, and disengage when you need to. Technology is a good servant but a bad master. ~ Gretchen Rubin

For notes related to books I'm writing, I've wondered whether I should organize my notes better, but I do find that the action or scrolling through them and seeing odd juxtapositions of ideas helps to stimulate my own ideas and creativity. I worry that if I kept the notes in a highly-structured way, I might lose some of these benefits. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Habit makes it dangerously easy to become numb to our own existence. For ~ Gretchen Rubin

When I think of myself in the third person, many things become clearer. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Now that I know I'm an Upholder, an Abstainer, a Marathoner, a Finisher, and a Lark, and have spent a lot of time thinking about what is, and isn't, important to me, I'm much better able to shape my habits. ~ Gretchen Rubin

What I Value What's most satisfying to me: saving time, or money, or effort? Does it bother me to act differently from other people, or do I get a charge out of it? Do I spend a lot of time on something that's important to someone else, but not to me? If I had $500 that I had to spend on fun, how would I spend it? Do I like to listen to experts, or do I prefer to figure things out for myself? Does spending money on an activity make me feel more committed to it, or less committed? Would I be happy to see my children have the life I've had? ~ Gretchen Rubin

There are a ton of reasons why I shouldn't be with you, but none are convincing enough to keep me from being here, tonight. ~ Gretchen De La O

We can build our habits only on the foundation of our own nature. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Keeping a habit, in the smallest way, protects and strengthens it. I write every day, even if it's just a sentence, to keep my habit of daily writing strong. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Yeah, well, if it wasn't your birthday and I wasn't so madly in love with you- his voice trailed off ... ~ Gretchen De La O

What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while. ~ Gretchen Rubin

One of the things that you see ancient philosophers and contemporary scientists agree on is that strong relationships are a key to happiness, maybe the key to happiness. People who have more strong relationships in their lives just feel happier. ~ Gretchen Rubin

When deciding what to buy, remember that some things are easy to buy - but then we have to use them. If they're not used, they don't enhance our lives; they just contribute to guilt and clutter. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Happiness is hard because it's very subjective. I know the people that seem happiest to me, but whether they are actually - what they're really like inside is really hard to say. ~ Gretchen Rubin

In German, a young lady has no sex, while a turnip has. Think what overwrought reverence that shows for the turnip, and what callous disrespect for the girl. See how it looks in print - I translate this from a conversation in one of the best of the German Sunday-school books: "Gretchen. Wilhelm, where is the turnip? "Wilhelm. She has gone to the kitchen. "Gretchen. Where is the accomplished and beautiful English maiden? "Wilhelm. It has gone to the opera. ~ Mark Twain

A happy home wasn't a place that I could furnish, but an attitude of mind I must develop. ~ Gretchen Rubin

There's a great satisfaction in knowing that we've made good use of our days, that we've lived up to our expectations of ourselves. ~ Gretchen Rubin

I still fit in with the hillbillies! ~ Gretchen Wilson

Pumpkin Bunny. Bridget's eyes drifted to the bookshelf where her favorite childhood toy sat propped up in the corner. It had been a gift from her dad from before she could remember, a soft, fluffy stuffed bunny popping out of a pumpkin like a stripper from a birthday cake. ~ Gretchen McNeil

Focus Not on Having Less or Having More, But on Wanting What You Have. ~ Gretchen Rubin

It is what it is. It, meaning terrorism. Terrorism is what it is, ~ Gretchen Carlson

As Dwight Eisenhower observed, Plans are worthless, but planning is everything. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Any beginning is a time of special power for habit creation, and at certain times we experience a clean slate, in which circumstances change in a way that makes a fresh start possible - if we're alert for the opportunity. ~ Gretchen Rubin

It's true that people do assume that people who are critical are smarter than people who are uncritical. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Spending hours stressed out in front of the TV isn't the same as volunteering or donating. Feeling a high level of personal distress makes people feel agitated and emotionally drained, to the point that they lack the energy or detachment to help - or the energy to manage themselves. ~ Gretchen Rubin

What's the matter? Afraid to come over here and fight a girl?"
"You are no girl," one of the soldiers yells.
"Now that is downright insulting." I squat down and pull daggers from my Doc Martens. "Looks like I'll have to defend my honor. ~ Tera Lynn Childs

To a truly remarkable extent, we're more likely to do something if it's convenient, and less likely if it's not. For this reason, we should pay close attention to the convenience of any activity we want to make into a habit. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Forcing victims of sexual harassment into secret arbitration proceedings is wrong because it means that nobody ever finds out what really happened. ~ Gretchen Carlson

My writing tends to become very dense, so I have to keep some cushion. Sometimes, words that seem superfluous are actually essential for the overall effect. ~ Gretchen Rubin

Having a messy coat closet should not be a big deal in a full life, and yet there's something about getting control of that coat closet that's surprisingly satisfying. ~ Gretchen Rubin

In The First 20 Minutes, Gretchen Reynolds notes, I stand on one foot when I brush my teeth at night. ~ Gretchen Rubin

I am interested in you, Gretchen." When I still won't look at him, he presses his fingers against my jaw and gently turns my face. He is looking straight in my eyes when he says, "I'm interested in you."
His midnight blues burn with an intensity that almost makes me believe him. Makes me want to believe him. He knows just the right thing to say to mess with my mind. He always has. He leans closer, watching me. His lips are a breath away from mine.
This time I'm not buying it.
My knee connects with his soft spot and he doubles over, gasping for air.
"Find your own way home," I snap before turning and marching back to my car. ~ Tera Lynn Childs

In the chaos of everyday life, it's easy to lose sight of what really matters, and I can use my habits to make sure that my life reflects my values. ~ Gretchen Rubin

There is no medicine or other intervention that appears to be nearly as effective as exercise in maintaining or even bumping up a person's cognitive abilities. ~ Gretchen Reynolds

Rule Number Two, Monsignor. Do not show pity. ~ Gretchen McNeil

Procrastinators may resemble Sprinters, because they too tend to finish only when they're against a deadline, but the two types are quite different. Sprinters choose to work at the last minute because the pressure of a deadline clarifies their thoughts; Procrastinators hate last-minute pressure and wish they could force themselves to work before the deadline looms. Unlike Sprinters, Procrastinators often agonize about the work they're not doing, which makes it hard for them to do anything fun or meaningful with their time. They may rush around doing busywork as a way to avoid doing what they know they have to do. ~ Gretchen Rubin

We need to stand together with all of the victims [ of sexual harassment] and make sure they are not silenced. ~ Gretchen Carlson