Update
I’m going on a book tour! I hope to see many listeners along the way.
Try This at Home
Celebrate “Determination Day” on February 28 to stay determined to meet your aims for yourself.
Happiness Hack
Start a “no homework” book club, where people don’t read the same book, but instead talk about the books, movies, plays, and TV shows that they’ve enjoyed—or not.
We mention the “Four Tendencies” personality framework. If you don’t know if you’re an Upholder, Questioner, Obliger, or Rebel, take the quiz here.
Bonus hack: Read Kate Bowler’s terrific new book with Jessica Richie: The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Day. (Amazon, Bookshop)
Deep Dive into #Outside23in23
Many listeners had great suggestions for ways to go outside for 23 minutes in 2023.
So many people are using the Happier app! Join us there.
Listeners suggested terrific books to read to get in an outdoor mood which you can find here.
Demerits & Gold Stars
- Gretchen’s Demerit: Once again, I haven’t been checking my calendar in advance.
- Elizabeth’s Gold Star: Her writing partner Sarah Fain traveled away from her daughter Violet for eight days for the first time.
Resources
Determination Day! Start or re-engage with the #Outside23in23 challenge in the Happier app.
We’ve built out the Resources section to include lots of suggestions for how to go outside if you need a bit of inspiration or a new approach to try.
What we’re reading
Gretchen:
Hello and welcome to Happier, a podcast where we discuss cutting-edge science, the wisdom of the ages, lessons from pop culture, and our own experiences about how to be happier.
This week we’ll talk about why we might celebrate Determination Day and we’ll share listener suggestions for Go Outside 23 in 23, which also includes recommendations of great books to read to get you in an outdoor mood.
[Music]
I’m Gretchen Rubin, a writer who studies happiness, good habits, the five senses, human nature. I’m in my little home office here in New York City. And joining me today from Los Angeles is my sister, Elizabeth Craft. My sister the sage.
Elizabeth:
That’s me, Elizabeth Craft, a T.V. writer and producer living in L.A. And I definitely prefer “my sister the sage” to “my sister the happiness guinea pig,” which I also am.
Gretchen:
I love you in all of your manifestations, Elizabeth. So a few updates before we launch in. First, I am going on a book tour. I am so excited. People who heard our discussion of the one-word theme, you know, my one-word theme is Wave. And one of the reasons that I chose that word is because I’m going to be waving to people as I go out on book tour.
Gretchen:
So I will post a link to that. Or you can go to happiercast.com/tour if you want to see. I’m going to a lot of different cities. Elizabeth, I’m going to stay with you for a couple of days along the way.
Elizabeth:
Yes. I can’t wait.
Gretchen:
It’s going to be super fun. And then we also heard from people about our suggestion to think about your past self, which we talked about in episode 414. We got a lot of interesting responses to that idea.
Elizabeth:
Yes, Carrie said, “I love your suggestion and conversation about thinking about your past self. I’m a new elementary school teacher and career changer. Teaching was my longtime dream, and I finally went back to school to become a teacher in my late thirties. I always wanted to be a teacher and was so envious of my friends who became teachers. Teaching is so rewarding and also very demanding. Instead of feeling overwhelmed or defeated by the day-to-day demands, I’m now reminding myself of my seven-year-old self who loved playing school in my basement. My ten-year-old self who asked my teachers for any unneeded school materials. My teenage self who loved working with kids at summer camps. And finally my 30-year-old self who chose the bigger life and went back to school for my master’s in education.”
Gretchen:
Oh, that’s so wonderful.
Elizabeth:
What a great story.
Gretchen:
It’s a great way to stay connected to your enduring values. And it’s also a great example of asking yourself, whom do I envy? We’ve talked about how sometimes envy can be a really useful emotion because it shows you that somebody else has something that you want. Other people might not envy their friends who are teachers, but if you envy those people, well, then that tells you something about yourself. So these are two good examples of ways to get self-reflection.
Elizabeth:
Yes. And then Amanda said, “I have been thinking about your suggestion to think about your past self. When I was 16, I would take the city bus to work in the summer. I had to do a bus transfer at the mall right in front of a car dealership. As I sit on my transfer bus waiting for it to take off, I look at the brand-new Mazda Tributes. I wanted one so badly. I’d sit and daydream what it’d be like to be able to drive my own car and not have to take the bus. Now I drive a Mazda Cx5. I don’t think they make Tributes anymore. My past self would be so proud and so excited that I get to drive one now. It was so fun to just think back to those days and how badly I wanted one. It made me really appreciate what I have.”
Gretchen:
Great. Yeah. It’s a way to stay grateful, not take things for granted. That’s wonderful.
Elizabeth:
Yes.
Gretchen:
Okay, so keep them coming. It’s so interesting to hear what people think about when they think about their past selves. And here’s another question. We’re going to do a very special episode on hacks for tapping into your five senses, for whether that’s memories, energy, calm, focus, creativity, mementos, just pure fun, whimsy, anything. Do you have a great hack for using your five senses?
Gretchen:
Send them in. Because I want to have a big collection because I think people get such a charge out of doing these. I want to add to my trove.
Elizabeth:
Yes.
Gretchen:
Okay. So is it this week our Try This at Home tip is to celebrate Determination Day on February 28th. Now, you might call this day Discouragement Day, because research suggests that by that point, February 28th, most people have abandoned their New Year’s resolutions. But instead of thinking of this as Discouragement Day, we can think about it as Determination Day, the day you’re determined to keep going.
Elizabeth:
Yes, I love that, Gretch. It’s a reframing and you know I love a reframing.
Gretchen:
Yes, you love to reframe. So you can use this day to take stock of your progress or your lack of progress on a habit or a New Year’s resolution. And you call it Determination Day, both because this is the day that you sort of determine how it’s going. And it’s also determination day because you double down on your determination to move forward toward your aim.
Elizabeth:
Yes. So Gretch, go through what should we do on Determination Day.
Gretchen:
The way that you use Determination Day will depend on what aim you’re thinking about. Okay. So let’s say there’s something that you’re just not doing. You’re like, I’m going to get up and go for a mile run every day before breakfast and you’re not doing it. So what you might say is, that’s not working. Let me find a new approach.
You might think about your Tendencies if you haven’t taken the quiz. Go to happiercast.com/quiz and take the quiz. You might try moving it to a different part of the day, maybe you’re a night person and you’re trying to do it in the morning. You know, find a new approach. Or other hand, you can mindfully abandon it.
Remember, I did this twice with meditation. People said to me, you got to meditate. It’s the greatest tool. Dan Harris, who’s like a meditation expert, got me very excited to try it again. I tried it for like five months very consistently. As an Upholder, that part wasn’t hard for me, but it just it wasn’t a tool that worked for me.
And so instead of forcing myself to stick to it, I was like, I’m going to mindfully decide to stop this. This is a resolution that I no longer want. So and we’re grownups. We can decide, I don’t want to do it.
Elizabeth:
The difference being mindfully abandoning something versus just dropping it.
Gretchen:
Right. Because if you drop it, you probably feel discouraged or you let yourself down or you feel like you wonder what would have happened if you’d kept it. Whereas mindfully stopping is just like I’ve decided this isn’t something that I want to do. And like, fair enough, you know, because if you’re not failing, you’re probably not trying hard enough.
And if you’re not experimenting with lots of resolutions, you might be missing something that would be really great. But it’s like with Mahjong, If you were like, look, I just realized in this season of life, it just costs me too much to be tracking that down. I gotta… let me wait a year or two. It’s like that’s very different from just kicking yourself as the months go by thinking, why am I not restarting my Mahjong group? It was… this feels very different.
And then the third approach is the most fun approach, and this is the Gold Star approach, which is, hey, if you’ve been doing it until Determination Day, you’ve outstripped most people who are doing resolutions, so you’re really doing well. You’re like at the head of the curve. Give yourself a big Gold Star.
Give yourself that ta-da. Realize that you’ve passed a very serious milestone and often people do get encouragement and energy from the idea that they’re doing well. So don’t be so focused on pushing yourself to keep going forward that you don’t give yourself credit and realize that you’ve made it further than most.
Elizabeth:
Yeah, I know for a lot of our listeners, one of their resolutions was to Go Outside 23 in 23, and Determination Day is a good time to give yourself a pat on the back for doing that.
Gretchen:
Right, a pat on the back for doing it. Or if you’re not doing it, then you’re like, well what’s not working about it? Maybe I’m trying to do it all at one time and I should break it up. Or maybe I’m trying to roll it into another kind of activity… I wanted to go on a walk with my sweetheart. But that person never wants to go, so I don’t go. So I’m like, well, then maybe I’ll listen to a podcast instead because that approach is not working.
Elizabeth:
So I am thinking on Determination Day, Gretchen, how am I doing with flossing my teeth at night? Because you know, one of my things this year is that I floss every morning, but I also need to floss at night. As I look forward to Determination Day, as of now, I must say I’m not doing such a great job, so I think I need to find a new approach.
Gretchen:
Okay. But Elizabeth, here’s the thing about your flossing. You get a Gold Star for this apart from your own flossing, when you were talking about wanting to start flossing twice a day, I realized that I wasn’t flossing ever. I wasn’t even thinking about it as something like, oh, I should be doing it, not doing it. I was just like, I kind of forgot all about the whole flossing thing. So hearing you talk about your flossing, I’ve been flossing every day. It wasn’t even on my 23 for 23, but you just… hearing you talk about I was like, wow, I need to up my game.
Elizabeth:
Oh, good. Well, I’m glad that I have caused you to floss, Gretchen. And maybe other listeners are flossing too.
Gretchen:
Well, yeah. So the overall level of flossing is rising, but not your share. Yeah.
Elizabeth:
So I need to examine that and hopefully before Determination Day I can get my act in gear and then I can give myself that Gold Star.
Gretchen:
Yeah, right. No, change your approach. Like figure out, is there some way to set up the situation around it so that it’s giving you that nudge? And the thing that’s great about Determination Day, I mean, this this idea of using the calendar as a catalyst for reflection, I think it’s very helpful because sometimes people, especially Questioners, will say, well, this is just arbitrary. Like you could reevaluate your aims at any point. And obviously you could, but something that can be done at any time is often done at no time.
And the calendar just often gives you a reminder to stop, step back, think about, well, if I’m not flossing, what should I be doing differently? Or if I’m not taking my daily nap the way I love to do it, how would I change something so that I can achieve my aim? It’s just handy to have that because we’re all so busy and distracted. It’s like it’s good to have that reminder.
Elizabeth:
Yes, it can be hard to keep track of what you even want to be doing at times.
Gretchen:
Exactly. I mean, that’s why the one-word theme needs a bracelet. And like the 23 for 23 List is tacked on the corkboard. It’s like it’s hard to keep all this stuff in mind to let us know if you do Try This at Home and how observing Determination Day works for you. What did you determine on Determination Day?
Let us know on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook. Drop us an email at podcast@gretchenrubin.com. Or as always, you can go to the show notes. This is happiercast.com/417.
Elizabeth:
Coming up, we’ve got a book club Happiness Hack. But first, this break.
[Music]
Gretchen:
Okay, Elizabeth, it’s time for a Happiness Hack. And this one involves books, so this gets our attention.
Elizabeth:
Yes. And Gretchen, this comes from Sarah. She says, “My hack is to start a no-homework book club. I love getting together with friends to talk about books, but I don’t enjoy a long, in-depth discussion of a single book or literary analysis. I saw a TikTok that suggested an alternative format for a book club, but I decided to try it. Each month you get together and everyone just talks about what they’ve been reading or listening to. Books, podcasts, long-form articles, etc. You share what you liked and didn’t, and if you’d recommend it to others. This format is low-pressure and for me makes for a more interesting discussion because you learn about lots of books from a diverse group of people. It also solves a problem of a discussion petering out because people haven’t completed the book. And it particularly appealed to my Rebel sister, who is an avid reader and loves sharing her favorites but wants to read what she wants to read. I volunteered to take notes and jotted down the recommendations, which I later typed up into a Google Doc. We are going to keep adding to the document each month so that all our recommendations are in one place.”
Gretchen:
Yeah, I think this is great. And in fact I have to say I’m in several book groups and we often spend at least half the time talking about other books, T.V. shows, movies, plays that we recommend to each other. We spend part of the time on the assigned book, but then we… because it is so fun to talk to people and swap recommendations.
Elizabeth:
Yes. Love this, Sarah. Thank you.
Gretchen:
And now we want to give a bonus hack because Kate Boler, who we are the biggest fans of Kate Bowler, she has a new book.
Elizabeth:
He has a terrific podcast, “Everything Happens.” And she’s written two gorgeous memoirs as well as academic books. She’s given a great TED Talk. And if that’s not enough, she’s also a professor at Duke Divinity School. Now, with Jessica Richie, she has a new book, “The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days.” And Gretchen, we know Kate has gone through a lot. She’s been living with a cancer diagnosis for many years, survived her diagnosis. She has a lot of insight.
Gretchen:
Yeah, the book is terrific. Here’s a description, “We live in a world that demands relentless perfection, happy marriages and easy friendships, bucket list level adventures and matching family photos. But what if our actual lives don’t feel very #Blessed? Might our everyday existence be worthy of a blessing too? Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie offer creative, faith-based blessings that send her gratitude and help while acknowledging our real messy lives formatted like a prayer book.
Gretchen:
The Lives We Actually Have is an oasis and a landing spot for weary souls with blessings that focus on the full range of human moments: garbage days, lovely days, grief-stricken days, and even especially completely ordinary days. Let’s have a reminder that we don’t need to wait for perfect lives when we can bless the lives we actually have.”
And the thing about Kate is like she is the rare writer, the rare person who, at one time she can be deep and light. She can be transcendent and also funny. She’s realistic, but she’s also hopeful. All in one page you get that. It’s a beautiful book and she’s terrific.
Elizabeth:
Yes. Love Kate Bowler.
Gretchen:
And now a Deep Dive for a Go Outside. Okay. So join in the annual challenge. The challenge that we and listeners are doing for 23 is to Go Outside 23 in 23. And this is good that we’re talking about it in the context of Determination Day because maybe you didn’t join in, maybe you didn’t know about it, maybe you just sort of didn’t get it in gear.
But now is… the best time to start an annual challenge is January 1st. The second best time is now. You’re never behind. You can join now and just don’t feel like you missed the boat. It’s so fun. So many people are joining in the Happier app. It’s terrific. They’re using it to log their entries. Something like 8,000 people now are in the app. And we have just in January, we had about 39,000 entries for people going outside.
Elizabeth:
Yeah, Gretch, I’m one of them. I’m doing a photo every day. And what I’ve realized is that it’s like a diary. It’s so great. I can see my whole year will be unfolding on the app with my pictures. So it’s really cool.
Gretchen:
You’re like, suddenly I’m on a cruise ship, suddenly I’m home.
Elizabeth:
Yes. Yes, exactly.
Gretchen:
Yeah. If you join in the app, we’re going to count the entries of people going outside. And if it adds up to a million, we will do a donation to One Tree Planted, which is a very cool organization. Apart from the app and all that people are just having a great time with Go Outside. It seems to be tapping into something that people kind of really wanted a nudge to do, and we got a lot of great suggestions from listeners.
Elizabeth:
Yes, Kate said, “I live in a cold climate and sometimes have a hard time motivating myself to go outside instead of having my regular Amazon orders be sent to my house. I have them sent to a drop box that’s about a mile away from my house. It’s an Amazon drop box on a college campus that’s a lovely walk from my house. I live in a big city, so I have a few options. This way, at least once a week, I am guaranteed to get a 46-minute walk in that idea.”
Gretchen:
That’s kind of the… a version of like, park on the farthest corner of the parking lot. You set it up, so you have to do it. Hillary wrote, “I’m so excited for the Outside 23 in 23 Challenge. In episode 410, Gretchen mentions that a quest is often better than a jaunt, and it made me think about how birding could be a really great hobby to get into for people who are interested in going outside but not sure how to make it fun.
Birding can be intimidating, but doing something as simple as getting a book of birds in your state or region and then keeping an eye out for them as you walk is a great way to get started. Other resources include your local Audubon chapter, or the eBird app, which helps you track all the birds you’re seeing.”
Elizabeth:
And Gretchen Julie emailed about how wonderful it is to get up to see the sunrise, and you could do the same for the sunset, go outside every night for the sunset and get a year of sunsets.
Gretchen:
Yeah. Whether you’re a morning person or a night person. Fran, who says Aloha from Hawaii, had several ideas. “One, when I’m outside walking or running or hiking, I photograph interesting things that I see, such as flowers, decorations, interesting mailboxes, architecture. It’s fun to challenge myself, to notice my surroundings.” Well, Elizabeth, that reminds me of you using your photo log.
That would be a way to use the photo lot. “Find three things to be grateful for when you were outside. Socialize with others well outside. Walk with someone or talk with people you meet.” And I would say you could also do a walk and talk, which is my new favorite thing to do with friends who are out of town.
Gretchen:
Yes, she said, “Walk your dog or go to a dog park or attend a dog meet-up. My son goes to a lot of Corgi meet-ups in San Diego.” You could do that, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth:
Maybe I saw him at the dog beach Corgi outing that we went to.
Gretchen:
Yeah. And then, Fran’s, last suggestion is, “I walk to the drugstore or grocery store if I only need a few items.” So those are great.
Elizabeth:
Mhm. Yes. Yes. Marion said, “I was excited to hear about the aim to get outside every day for 23 minutes and 2023 and it made me think of a solution I came up with for myself last spring. I live in Minnesota and my home overlooks a marsh with lots of beautiful birds and wildlife. I found that I can create a moment of deep relaxation and peace by painting outside. I created a painting caddy for myself by getting a cleaning caddy from the dollar store and filling it with my most used supplies for painting with watercolor. I have these supplies always in place as my outsides set-up and ready to grab as I go out the sliding door to the deck. I don’t pack and unpack every time, and this makes it easy for me to paint if a free moment arises. I can see this hack being useful for those who craft in other ways as well knitters, crosshairs, etc., and reading outside is a no-brainer.”
Gretchen:
Well, this is using the strategy of convenience, which is like the more you make it convenient to do something, the more likely you are to do it. And if one of the things you would like to encourage yourself to do outside, whether that’s practice the guitar or write or watercolor, having those supplies so that you’re not… you don’t feel like you have to run around getting everything assembled, it’s just going to make it that much easier, as she said, to just step out the door and go. So that’s really that’s a great idea.
Now, we also asked people if they had books that they read that they felt like got them in the Go Outside 23 in 23 mood, and people had many suggestions. So we’ll just quickly go through these and I’ll put a link in the show notes if you want to go back. I’ve read many of these books and the ones that I’ve read I’ve all really liked. So I think this is a really terrific list.
Elizabeth:
Yes, Elizabeth said, “A book recommendation for those who want to get outside but feel like it’s not as meaningful if they live in an urban setting: “The Urban Bestiary” by Lyanda Lynn Haupt. Really great way to learn to be more aware of the wildness even in the most urban environments.
Gretchen:
That’s great. Cynthia suggests “The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Woburn and the Shepherd’s Life by James Re Banks.”
Elizabeth:
Yes, and Rebecca suggests, “I’m reading Land Healer by Jacob Vines at the moment. It’s completely changing how I view my patch of England.”
Gretchen:
Carrie suggests “The Peace of Wild Things and Other Poems by Wendell Berry.” I’m a big fan of the novels of Wendell Berry.
Elizabeth:
And Casey said, “A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. It’s laugh-out-loud, funny, while vividly describing many different landscapes along the Appalachian Trail.” And Michelle suggests “Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.”
Gretchen:
Susan suggests “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard,” and Austin suggests “Upstream by Mary Oliver.”
Elizabeth:
Oh, yes. Well, everybody, we all love Mary Oliver. And then Mark said, “Daniel Duane’s Caught Inside on surfing and Lighting Out about climbing and Yosemite are fantastic exemplars of the personal essay format stretched out into a memoir. Two of my favorites and very much make me want to get outside.”
Gretchen:
Allie suggests “Arctic Dreams by the great Barry Lopez.” James says, “I am not a runner, but the book Born to Run makes me feel like I could run out my door up the canyon and put in something 75 to 100 miles on some mountain trails.”
Elizabeth:
And then this I love, Gretchen. Luke suggested “L.L. Bean catalogs.” He said, “They really make you want to get outside.” And I get that. Yeah.
Gretchen:
Yeah. And go to the camping store. “Marin says, Emily St. John Mandel’s Sea of Tranquility has permanently impacted the way I see the moon when visible during the day.” And then Elizabeth, one thing that was really fun is that several people mentioned works of children’s literature. Of course I love children’s literature. So this was fun.
Elizabeth:
Yes. Kay said, “Reading little house books made me want to run in a cow pasture, slide down hay bales, stick my toes in mud, swim in a swim hole, wade in a creek, and sit around a fire at night. All the feels.”
Gretchen:
Oh, so true.
Elizabeth:
Karen said, “My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. I love rereading this as it takes me back to the final school days of seventh grade, when our teacher would read a few pages at the end of every day.” I remember that book, Gretchen. So good.
Gretchen:
So good. Okay, but here’s the thing that really astonished me. Even though I’m a person who loves children’s literature, I was surprised the number one book that was mentioned by a long shot was Anne of Green Gables. L.M. Montgomery’s book, Anne of Green Gables. Many, many people observed that the descriptions of nature in that book were the ones that stood out to them the most.
So that’s great. I just relistened to Anne of Green Gables just like a few weeks ago. And indeed there is an enormous amount of description of the outdoors. So that was so fun. So thank you everyone. This is a great, great reading list. Even if you just want to sit inside all the time, there’s still great reading.
Elizabeth:
Yes, but I love the theme. All right. And coming up, great. You give yourself a repeat Demerit. But first, this break.
[Music]
Elizabeth:
Okay, we are back with Demerits and Gold Stars. And this week, Gretchen, you are up with a Happiness Demerit.
Gretchen:
Okay, this is a repeat Demerit. And I hope again if I do this, if I get myself to Demerit, I will stop doing this. Which is, every once in a while, I fall into this habit where I forget to look ahead on my calendar. I should put it on my calendar every Sunday morning or Sunday night that I just look through my calendar.
But I really need to do it day to day. I think I kind of do do that. But then I’ll forget like, oh my gosh, that’s tomorrow. Or oh, wait, you know, and it kind of affects how I approach my day. Like, what time do I do breakfast and stuff? And then sometimes I’m uncomfortably scrambling. If there’s prep work that I needed to do, I have never missed something, but I am a person who likes a lot of margin.
I do not like feeling like I’m tight up against a deadline. So like I don’t like preparing something in the morning for something that I need at lunchtime. And so I just I just need to like every day look ahead for the next two days and just sort of have a mental map of my days.
Elizabeth:
Well, and especially with your book coming out and the book tour, I mean, you’re going to have a lot of different kinds of events.
Gretchen:
Yeah, well, that’s a good…
Elizabeth:
I agree. I think you really need to keep it all in mind.
Gretchen:
Yeah. Now, that’s a good point. Like, I should get this, have it locked down so that I’m not struggling with it. When things get really bonkers. Okay. Okay. I’m determined. Determination Day, February 28. I will officially launch a kind of personal campaign. And Elizabeth, what is your Gold Star?
Elizabeth:
All right, well, Gretch, I am giving my Gold Star to Sarah, my writing partner and co-host of Happier in Hollywood. She and I went on a cruise in the Caribbean for seven nights. We were gone eight nights. And I should say it was a research cruise because we’re doing a project that takes place on a cruise ship.
Gretchen:
So this is the “nice work if you can get it” category…
Elizabeth:
Exactly. Best research trip out ever. But when we were discussing going, Sarah’s immediate thing was, there’s no way I can leave Violet for eight nights. Just, I can’t. I can’t. And but then she came around and she said, well, we need to do this, and we may end up having to go away for a few weeks at some point, you know, because we have to do that for work.
And in the past she’s always brought Violet. But of course, the older the kids get, the harder it gets to bring them with you. And so she decided to do it. And you know what? It went absolutely fine. And she was able to relax and have a good time. And it was hard to communicate because we were in the middle of the ocean.
But she totally kept her cool the whole time, enjoyed herself, and Violet did great. So also bonus Gold Star, I guess, to Violet for managing without her mom. So it’s just great to see Sarah tackle that and succeed. And we had a wonderful time. We celebrated finally our 20th writing anniversary.
Gretchen:
That’s right. Yeah.
Elizabeth:
Yes. Because the pandemic had waylaid our plans. So we decided we’ll do it big and we were on a cruise.
Gretchen:
Oh, that’s great. Well, Gold Star to Sarah and Violet. The resources for this week, while it’s Determination Day, we’ve been talking about Go Outside 23 in 23. So use the day to reflect on Go Outside, how it’s going for you, or whether you want to join in. If you go to thehappierapp.com, in the resources section there are a lot of suggestions there about ways to go outside if you need a little bit of inspiration or a new approach to try. So you can go to thehappierapp.com/resources. If you look under Aim Ideas in the menu, you will see a lot of ideas there.
So, Elizabeth, what are we reading?
Elizabeth:
I am reading “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover.
Gretchen:
And I’m rereading “Essays” by George Orwell. And that’s it for this episode of Happier. Remember to Try This at Home, celebrate Determination Day. Let us know if you tried it and how it worked for you.
Elizabeth:
Thanks to our executive producer Chuck Reed and everyone at Cadence 13. Get in touch, Gretchen’s on Instagram @gretchenrubin and I’m @lizcraft. Our email address is podcast@gretchenrubin.com.
Gretchen:
Here it comes. You know what I’m going to say. Once again, please be sure to tell a friend. Just go ahead and forward them the link of this episode or just tell them about the show or just do whatever you like because it really does help. Word of mouth is the best. We really appreciate it.
Elizabeth:
Until next week, I’m Elizabeth Craft.
Gretchen:
And I’m Gretchen Rubin. Thanks for joining us. Onward and upward.
[Music]
Gretchen:
Elizabeth, did you use your packing cubes when you packed for your cruise?
Elizabeth:
I did. So I think on my 23 list I said to use them at least twice. So I’ve now used them once.
Gretchen:
So was it the transformative experience that people said?
Elizabeth:
Well, you know what was great is on the way home, I like put dirty clothes, you know, together in the packing cubes. And so then it keeps the dirty clothes separate, which is really nice. So I’m a fan.
Gretchen:
Well, thank you for mine for Christmas. I cannot wait to use them.
[Music]
Gretchen:
From the Onward Project.