Update: My husband has been sending me photos from various airports where he has spotted The Happiness Project Tenth Anniversary Edition—very exciting to have it out in the world! What a joy it has been to work on this book, for all ten years! If you’re planning to give a copy of the book as a gift, you may want to request a personalized, free bookplate to put in it, or request a bookplate for yourself. Sign up here. U.S. and Canada only, I’m afraid—mailing costs. Elizabeth and team are almost done shooting The Fix! A huge milestone for a TV show. If you’re curious to hear more about the process of making a television show, listen to Happier in Hollywood—Elizabeth’s other podcast, with her writing partner Sarah Fain.
Try This at Home
Do something scary.
We discuss Elizabeth Bernstein’s piece in the Wall Street Journal: “Using Fear to Break Out of a Funk.” I mentioned Go Ape Zip Line & Treetop Adventure in Kansas City. Scary, challenging, and fun.
Happiness Hack
Instead of asking your children to make a “wish list” for gifts, ask them to make a “likes list.”
Happiness Stumbling Block
We discuss the challenges of cellphone etiquette. Using smartphones and earbuds is still such a new behavior that it’s not clear what’s polite—and what’s not. Elizabeth is naturally more considerate than I am, so I peppered her with questions that have been puzzling me.
Listener Question
A listener asks how to keep Thanksgiving a pleasant holiday, when she and her husband, new parents of a four-month-old, have to divide their time among four sets of parents.
Gretchen’s Demerit: I’ve been talking and writing about the value of holiday breakfasts for years! It’s a section of my book Happier at Home, and I’ve blogged about it, and we’ve talked about it here on the podcast. And I utterly forgot to do a holiday breakfast for Halloween this year. It never even crossed my mind, until days later.
Elizabeth’s Gold Star: Elizabeth gives a gold star to her husband Adam and other parents at Jack’s school for challenging themselves to complete the grueling Spartan Race.
Resources
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