Something Making Us More Happier
- Elizabeth: She and Adam watched The Godfather and The Godfather II with Jack, who is also reading Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather (Amazon, Bookshop).
- Gretchen: I went to Iceland as part of the Iceland Writers Retreat. Such a beautiful country.
Happiness Lessons from the Real Housewives
Elizabeth points out how the Housewives are able to argue, then put aside their differences and work together. “Can we move forward? I’d like to move forward with you.”
I mention one of my favorite TV shows, The Wire.
Spotlight on a Tool
Sign up for one of my newsletters—all free:
- the “5 Things Making Me Happy” weekly email (spoiler alert, it’s about five things making me happy)
- the “Moment of Happiness” daily emails, where I send a beautiful short quotation about happiness or human nature (choosing these quotations is one of my very favorite work tasks)
- the “Tips for Happiness and Good Habits,” which comes out once every two weeks, exactly what it sounds like
- “Happier with Gretchen Rubin Podcast Show Notes,” which sends the show notes every time a new episode airs ( A Little Happier, More Happier, and Happier with Gretchen Rubin episodes are all included)—I work hard to make the show notes interesting and useful
Quality Screen Time
I highly recommend The Nostalgia Machine website; you enter a year, and the site suggests a list of top songs to click on to listen.
Quotation
We tell people to follow their dreams, but you can only dream of what you can imagine, and, depending on where you come from, your imagination can be quite limited. Growing up in Soweto, our dream was to put another room on our house. Maybe have a driveway. Maybe, someday, a cast-iron gate at the end of the driveway. Because that is all we knew. But the highest rung of what’s possible is far beyond the world you can see. My mother showed me what was possible. The thing that always amazed me about her life was that no one showed her. No one chose her. She did it on her own. She found her way through sheer force of will.
— Trevor Noah, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Amazon, Bookshop)