Gretchen Rubin quotes - page 3

Some kind of clutter is difficult - letting go of things with sentimental value, sifting through papers - but some clutter I find very refreshing to clear. I drive my daughters nuts because I'm always wandering into their rooms to clear clutter. (Gretchen Rubin)
Sometimes, counter-intuitively, it's easier to make a major change than a minor change. When a habit is changing very gradually, we may lose interest, give way under stress, or dismiss the change as insignificant. There's an excitement and an energy that comes from a big transformation, and that helps to create a habit. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
People are powerfully moved by imagination, belief, and knowledge. They can consider the past and future. They can make changes in their behavior out of reason, in a way that animals can't do. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
Work harder to appreciate your ordinary day. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
When Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's government fell in May 1940, the nation turned to Churchill. At last, his unique qualities were brought to bear on a supreme challenge, and with his unshakable optimism, his heroic vision, and above all, his splendid speeches, Churchill roused the spirit of the British people. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
The more I examine the issue of clutter, the more effort I put into combating it, because it really does act as a weight. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
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. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
Nothing,' wrote Tolstoy, 'can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
It's easy to be heavy; hard to be light. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
I can DO ANYTHING I want, but I can't DO EVERYTHING I want. (Gretchen Rubin)
When you're doing a job that benefits other people, it's easy to assume that they feel conscious of the fact that you're doing this work - that they should feel grateful, and that they should and do feel guilty about not helping you. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
When we're trying to form and keep habits, we often search - even unconsciously - for loopholes. We look for justifications that will excuse us from keeping this particular habit in this particular situation. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
One thing I wish I could tell my younger self: take photos of everyday life, not special occasions; later, that's what will be interesting to you. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
I really work on paying attention to the clues my self is giving myself. For instance, I think of myself in the third person. That allows me to manage myself better. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
Accept yourself and expect more from yourself. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
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. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
Don't keep excessive amounts of anything. Those glass vases that come from florists. Those ketchup packets that come with take-out food. A house with two adults probably doesn't need fifteen mismatched souvenir coffee cups. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
They say that people teach what they need to learn. By adopting the role of happiness teacher, if only for myself, I was trying to find the method to conquer my particular faults and limitations. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
I collect axioms, paradoxes, maxims, teaching stories, proverbs, and aphorisms of all sorts, because I love to see complex ideas distilled into a few words. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
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)
I love finding - or inventing - ways to categorize people. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
One major challenge within happiness is loneliness. The more I've learned about happiness, the more I've come to believe that loneliness is a terrible, common, and important obstacle to consider. View quote
Gretchen Rubin
In 'Before and After,' I identify the sixteen strategies that we can use to make or break our habits. Some are quite familiar, such as 'Monitoring,' 'Scheduling,' and 'Convenience.' Some took me a lot of effort to identify, such as 'Thinking,' 'Identity,' and 'Clarity.' View quote
Gretchen Rubin
A series of small but real accomplishments gives people the energy and confidence to continue. For instance, a person who wants to write a novel might resolve to write one sentence each day. Or a person who wants to start running might resolve to run for one minute. View quote
Gretchen Rubin