021: Gretchen Rubin on Habits and Being Better Than Before

For many of us, maintaining good habits can be both rewarding and challenging. Also, as we approach the end of one year and the start of another - living a happier and more successful life is without a doubt one our biggest goals.

On this episode of Gen X Amplified, we have someone who is perhaps considered the "queen of habits and happiness", New York Times bestselling author, Gretchen Rubin. She is here to discuss her latest book, aptly titled Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Everyday Life, and to share some awesome insights on the steps we can take to change and conquer our habits.

Gretchen Rubin is definitely a content creator phenomenon. She is a blogger, podcaster, speaker, and bestselling author of many books, including The Happiness Project, which really sparked her overall happiness movement.

Then she "happily" put pen to paper again to write Happier at Home, which was Gretchen's personal account of what she implemented to create more happiness in the things that mattered to her at home - such as marriage, family treasured possessions, neighborhood, and parenthood.

Now Gretchen's latest book, Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives, is all about how to maintain and increase the good habits in your life - and how to break the bad ones that are keeping you from reaching your goals.

She has also recently launched a weekly podcast called Happier with Gretchen Rubin that she co-hosts with her sister, where they discuss good habits and happiness.

Gretchen has a passionate following both in print and online, and her books have sold more than two million copies worldwide in more than thirty languages. She also makes frequent TV appearances on shows like The Today Show, and others.

As our featured guest on today's episode of Gen X Amplified, Gretchen speaks directly to the challenges and even the great opportunities that Gen-Xers have when it comes to creating better habits, especially during this "rush hour" of life as she calls it.

Key Takeaways From This Episode:

Why Gretchen made the decision to leave the practice of law to start her journey as a published author.
What is one of Gretchen's themes in all of her writings on happiness.
Why the biggest "happiness" challenge that most people face actually deals with habits.
The most important thing to think about when changing habits is focusing on strategies that are right for us - and not others.
What are the (4) Four Tendencies/personality traits that Gretchen created to identify how people respond to expectations. Also, there is a quiz you can take to find out yours!
Why being very specific and concrete is the best approach when setting New Years resolutions, habits, and goal setting.
And so much more!

Awesome Resources from this Episode:

Gretchen Rubin's website
Better Than Before (book)
Gretchen's Podcast
Gretchen on Twitter 
Gretchen's (4) Four Tendencies Quiz
"Happy" by Pharrell
Evernote

Thank you for listening!