Happier with Gretchen Rubin

August is “Dogust,” so we talk about celebrating the dogs in our lives. Plus, we answer a listener question about our reading habits.

Episode Highlights:

Try This at Home: Celebrate "Dogust" with five easy ways to celebrate your dog [06:10]

Four Tendencies Tip: We share strategies for helping a parent Upholder who is struggling to maintain her habits [15:23]

Happiness Hack: Why a backpacking pack might be a better travel alternative to your roller bag [12:48]

Listener Question: How do we get so much reading done? [19:57]

Demerits & Gold Stars: Gretchen’s demerit: stalling out on family timeline project; Elizabeth’s Gold Star: all the monoculture events this summer [25:00]

Mentioned in This Episode:

Dog cave bed

Patagonia Black Hole Convertible Carry-On Backpack

This American Ex-Wife: How I Ended My Marriage and Started My Life by Lyz Lenz (Amazon, Bookshop)

Permanence by Sophie Mackintosh (Amazon, Bookshop)

Secrets of Adulthood Substack

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Website: gretchenrubin.com

Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft

Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.
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A classic children’s fable is very relevant to the work of adults.

Connect with Us:


Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com


Website: gretchenrubin.com


Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft


Learn more about Gretchen's Four Tendencies personality framework and take the free quiz.

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A viral clip shows two NBA stars turning a painful mistake into a moment of friendship through humor. We also discuss a surprisingly divisive topic: coasters.

Episode highlights:

Something Making Us Happier: Running a mile in under 12 minutes, and weird soda flavors [00:41]

I've Been Meaning to Tell You: How "joshing" and affectionate teasing helped two Knicks teammates reframe a painful playoff moment [03:57]

Spotlight on a Tool: Sign up for my free newsletter for "Five Things to Try" [10:31]

Are Coasters Still Useful? A listener argues coasters are outdated. [11:21]

Mentioned in this episode:

Jalen Brunson Trolls Josh Hart Missing Dunk Before OG's Tip-In - Bleacher Report

Sign up for Gretchen's free newsletter, "Five Things to Try This Month"

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Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Website: gretchenrubin.com

Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft

Learn more about Gretchen's Four Tendencies personality framework and take the free quiz.

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify — it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listeners share the "everyone knows that" facts they learned the hard way and we share an important warning about falls.

Episode highlights:

Listener Follow-Up: Remember that even a small fall can lead to a big injury. [00:57]

Lessons Learned the Hard Way—spare tires, elevator exit stars, gas tank arrows, and more [02:42]

Try This at Home: We share listeners' examples of facts everyone else seemed to know--but they didn't. [15:05]

Demerits & Gold Stars: Elizabeth’s demerit: late to fill out school health forms; Gretchen’s gold star: to Elizabeth’s family for making the long trip for the 4th of July [27:35]

Mentioned in this episode:

Food & Wine: What the Color of Your Bread Tag Really Means

Gretchen's Reading Retreat guide: happiercast.com/readingretreat

Who Needs Friends by Andrew McCarthy (Amazon, Bookshop)

Virginia Woolf's Diary, Vol. 3 (Amazon, Bookshop)

Connect with Us:

Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com

Website: gretchenrubin.com

Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft

Take Gretchen's free Four Tendencies quiz

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s very draining to deal with someone who complains and rejects any help that’s offered—but effective responses exist.

Connect with Us:


Email: podcast@gretchenrubin.com


Website: gretchenrubin.com


Instagram: @gretchenrubin | @lizcraft


Learn more about Gretchen's Four Tendencies personality framework and take the free quiz.

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or rate us on Spotify—it helps other listeners find the show!

Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices