My Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life

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"Videos: Happiness Challenge"



Check Out My Video Book Trailer: “Ten Ways to be ‘Happier at Home.’”

Ta-da! Here’s the one-minute video for my new book, Happier at Home, on “Ten ways to be happier at home.” Some of the “ways” are serious; some are a bit goofy.

Thanks so much to Chris Gelles who created it.

What do you think? What strategies would you add?

If seeing this book trailer made you think, “Goodness, Gretchen, I want to pre-order Happier at Home right this minute,” then here are the links you need! Pre-orders are a big help to me, so thanks for pre-ordering.

If you want to know more about the book, you can…

read about it;

listen to an excerpt from the audio-book;

sample an excerpt from the chapter on “Time.”

Story: Be Polite, and Be Fair.

For the weekly videos, I now tell a story. I’ve realized that for me, and I think for many people, a story is what holds my attention and makes a point most powerfully.

This week’s story: Be polite, and be fair.

 

Can’t see the video? Click here.

I love short mantras that cover a lot of situations. Do you have a mantra or catchphrase that helps you remember how you want to behave? My favorite personal mantra is Be Gretchen. (Other people should substitute their own names, of course.)

Find the archives of videos here.  More than 1.5 MILLION views. Don’t forget to subscribe!

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Story: Would I Have Been Able To Tell Right From Wrong?

For the weekly videos, I now tell a story. I’ve realized that for me, and I think for many people, a story is what holds my attention and makes a point most powerfully.

This week’s story: Would I have been able to tell right from wrong?

 

Can’t see the video? Click here.

As I said, I didn’t really understand what happened with Enron; I understood just enough to make me feel unsettled.

The passage I read is: “The overriding basic principle of accounting is that if you explain the ‘accounting treatment’ to a man in the street, would you influence his investing decisions? Would he sell or buy the stock based on a thorough understanding of the facts? If so, you best present it correctly and/or change the accounting.”

If you’d like to read the full text of Sherron Watkins’s memo, read it here.

How about you? Can you think of examples when you found the right question or the right test to identify the right path? Often, I say to myself, “Do the loving thing.” That often helps.

Find the archives of videos here.  More than 1.5 MILLION views. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Story: I Want To Do the Same Thing on the Weekend That I Do During the Week.

For the weekly videos, I now tell a story. I’ve realized that for me, and I think for many people, a story is what holds my attention and makes a point most powerfully.

This week’s story: I want to do the same thing on the weekend that I do during the week.

 

Can’t see the video? Click here.

The episode that I describe in this story was very helpful when I was trying to pull myself out of “drift.”

To read more about drift, go here, and to take a quiz to learn if you’re drifting, go here.

If you want to watch more about why and how I left law for writing, and also a discussion about drift, you might enjoy the talk I gave at 5×15.

You can also read more about this in Happier at Home, chapter six.

Find the archives of videos here.  More than 1.3 MILLION views. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Story: My Sister Wasn’t Sorry To See Me Go, But She Was Glad I Came.

For the weekly videos, I now tell a story. I’ve realized that for me, and I think for many people, a story is what holds my attention and makes a point most powerfully.

This week’s story: My sister wasn’t sorry to see me go–but she was glad I came.

 

Can’t see the video? Click here.

What does this story mean, exactly? I don’t think I captured it in my summation in the video. I meant to say: sometimes, even when we don’t enjoy something, or feel grateful for it at the time, we’re grateful for it later. So when I’m the person who’s giving that not-particularly-welcome help, I have to remember not to expect gold stars; the important thing is to be helping someone I love over the long term.

This can be hard for a gold-star junkie like myself! Do you ever battle this? Feel annoyed or disappointed when people don’t seem grateful, even if you know that in the long run you’re helping? This is particularly difficult, because sometimes people honestly aren’t grateful, and would prefer that we not “help.” In this case, it was clear that my sister did in fact welcome my help. And at the same time, she was glad to see me go!

If you want to read more along these lines, check out…

Taken for granted? 5 tips for dealing with feeling unappreciated.

Want to be free from French fries? Or, why abstaining may be easier than you think. [This isn't related to the subject of the video but contains words of wisdom from my sister the sage.]

You can also read more about this in Happier at Home.

Find the archives of videos here.  More than 1.3 MILLION views. Don’t forget to subscribe!

Story: Sometimes I Work the Hardest When I Seem To Work the Least.

For the weekly videos, I now tell a story. I’ve realized that for me, and I think for many people, a story is what holds my attention and makes a point most powerfully.

This week’s story:

 

This reminds me of something Virginia Woolf wrote in her Diary: “My mind works in idleness. To do nothing is often my most profitable way.” Agree, disagree? Does your “work” sometimes distract you from your “work”?

Can’t see the video? Click here.

If you want to read more along these lines, check out…

7 tips I use to spark my creativity.

Pouring out ideas is better for creativity than doling them out with a teaspoon.

You can also read more about this in Happier at Home, chapter five.

Find the archives of videos here.  More than 1.3 MILLION views. Don’t forget to subscribe!