I'm Gretchen Rubin and this is a little happier. Now if you listen to the podcast happier with

Gretchen Rubin, you know that I often refer to my sister Elizabeth as the sage. She is my sister

the sage because she always says such wise things and I always write them down immediately because

she is so wise. And one of the wisest things that she's told me is that people succeed in groups.

This came up when a good friend of hers who worked in Hollywood got a major boost to his career.

He got a really, really big job and I said to her, did it make you feel uncomfortable yourself

that somebody you knew, like, got such a plumb job because sometimes that can give you sort of a

funny feeling when somebody, you know, gets something really great like that. And she said to me

very wisely, well, yeah, I know what you mean, but I also remind myself that people succeed in groups.

And if he's doing really well, that's probably going to be good for me. Now in my observation,

I think this is objectively true. I think it is actually objectively true that people succeed in

groups. But the fact is, even if you don't believe that it's objectively true, it's a very

comforting thought. And it's helpful reminding ourselves that it's not a zero-sum game.

The fact that you do well doesn't mean that I'm going to do worse. And in fact, if you do well,

that might be better for me because people succeed in groups. If you want to hear more from Elizabeth

and her sage words, listen to her podcast, Happier in Hollywood, with her longtime friend and

writing partner, Sarah Fein. I'm Gretchen Rubin and I hope this makes your week a little happier.