Ep. 498: Don’t Volunteer to Bring Bad News & Listeners Suggest Great Tips for Accountability and Pairing

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project

Education, Health & Fitness, Self-improvement

4.7 • 13K Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2024

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We talk about why it’s advisable (if possible) to avoid being the bringer of bad news. We also discuss why it’s a good idea to RSVP “yes” or “no” quickly--and stick to that decision. Plus we share many helpful suggestions from listeners about effective ways they’ve created accountability for themselves, and used pairing, to achieve important aims. Get in touch: [email protected] Follow on social media: @GretchenRubin on YouTube @GretchenRubin on TikTok @GretchenRubin on Instagram @GretchenRubin on Threads @LizCraft on Instagram @LizCraft on Threads @GretchenRubin on ThreadsGet the podcast show notes by email every week: happiercast.com/shownotes Get the resources and all links related to this episode here: http://happiercast.com/498 Get Gretchen Rubin’s newest New York Times bestselling book Life in Five Senses to see how she discovered a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love: by tuning in to the five senses. Now available wherever books are sold. Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Happier, a podcast where we discuss strategies, solutions and
0:06.9	hacks for how to lead happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative lives.
0:11.5	This week we'll talk about why it's a good idea not to volunteer
0:15.1	to be the bearer of bad news and we share dozens of great suggestions from
0:20.2	listeners about how to create accountability and how they use the strategy of pairing
0:26.5	to improve their habits. I'm Gretchen Rubin, a writer who studies happiness, good habits, secrets of adulthood, human nature.
0:45.2	I am in Montana, just outside of big timber in a little temporary studio that I have set up.
0:51.5	And joining me today from Los Angeles is my sister
0:53.7	Elizabeth Kraft. That's me Elizabeth Kraft a TV writer and producer living in
0:58.0	LA and Gretchen sounds like you're still getting over you're cold. Yes, I can talk now which for a while I couldn't talk but it is kind of a
1:06.3	froggy voice so people will hear that. Doesn't happen to you very often. No you're the one that has
1:11.3	trouble with your voice. I know. Yeah, but before we jump in first a few updates
1:16.8	Yes, Gratch, it's your wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary. Well, thank you. It is 30 years. That is a big milestone. And what we didn't realize when we picked our date is that we have a mnemonic, which every wedding anniversary should have a mnemonic. Ours is 9, 4, 94, so it's super easy to remember,
1:34.2	but we're all kind of staggered by the idea
1:36.8	that we've been married for 30 years,
1:38.9	Jamie and I and Eliza Eleanor too.
1:41.6	Yeah. Congratulations. Well, thank you. And then we got two responses to different
1:47.3	discussions that came out of episode 496. Yeah, Catherine said, I really identified with the question that the obliger asked about how to not feel like she is being taken advantage of by her family members.
2:01.0	Your reply, just, wow, so many of these things really made sense to me and
2:05.0	understanding that my rebel daughter and question her husband will ask even
2:09.7	when it seems unreasonable as they expect me to have set my own boundaries and to clearly
2:14.3	state them. This has led to an interesting conversation with my daughter who has
	...

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