Something Making Us (More) Happier

• Elizabeth:  Hollywood has finally kicked back into gear.
• Gretchen: I talked to my husband Jamie about taking a family trip to Japan, and he said that this year is just not the right time for such a big trip. It feels good to get it settled, even though I really do want to go.

I’ve Been Meaning to Ask You

Elizabeth asks me about how I got the idea to create my new quiz, “Habits for Happiness: What’s the next new habit that will make you happier?”

I mention the Vital Nine categories of habits. I also mention Winston Churchill’s delightful little book, Painting as a Pastime (Amazon, Bookshop).

We talk about our own answers, and top answers from people who have taken the quiz.

Spotlight on a Tool

If you’ve taken the quiz and have a new habit you’d like to start, consider using a personalized Habit Tracker tool in the Happier app.

I’ve Been Meaning to Ask You

Elizabeth asks me to tell her what I’m planning for the second half of my “Happiness Project: Revisited.”

Quotation

One thing I have learnt is that, while I used to think I was making individual choices, now, looking back, I see clearly that I was following trends and general patterns of behavior which I was about as powerless to resist as a migrating bird or a salmon swimming upstream. —Claire Tomalin, A Life of My Own (Amazon)