Lately, Jamie and I have been on a little flavor tour at Whole Foods Market.
Instead of making the same three dinners over and over, we wander the aisles and pick a region to visit.
It makes dinners feel less predictable.
Last week, we leaned Mediterranean.
Another time, we swung Latin-inspired.
And we always keep San Pellegrino on hand, because it instantly makes it feel like more of a fancy meal.
Yeah, I love that at Whole Foods Market, you can really see the savings.
Explore the store for yellow signs.
You'll find them, aisle after aisle, highlighting sales and everyday low price items with the same high quality.
Get inspired to try something new.
And if you truly don't want to cook, that's me.
The prepared food section saves me.
Empanadas or burritos and dinner is just handled.
Whole Foods Market makes it easy to take it easy when it's dinnertime.
Save on regional flavors at Whole Foods Market.
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I'm Gretchen Rubin, and this is A Little Happier.
A subject that has long interested me is, what makes human beings special?
What characteristics, if any, distinguish us from other creatures?
People have debated this question from ancient times and some of the proposed answers have been discarded.
For instance, researchers used to claim that the use of tools was unique to humans, but now we understand that many creatures use tools.
I've made a list.
Some of these characteristics are widely known, such as the human-only ability to combine words in new ways, to express unlimited new ideas.
But some are more surprising.
For instance, we humans are the only earthly creatures to have chins.
As of now and this list isn't complete and maybe I've made a mistake research suggests that human beings have the unique ability to contemplate their own death abstractly.
Blush from embarrassment.
Use symbols that stand for abstract concepts.
Have long, fully opposable and precision-gripping thumbs.
Do what's called freighted walking, which is walking long distance while carrying things.
Shed emotional tears.
Cook their food.
Feel complex shame.
Ask open-ended questions to gain information.
Contemplate the distant past and future.
Build on previous generations' discoveries without starting over.
Have a low-positioned larynx enabling full vowel production.
Make fire.
Gather thousands of genetic strangers.
Peacefully trade goods with strangers.
Actively instruct others.
Wear clothes for modesty.
Sweat as our primary method of cooling down.
Throw objects accurately at high speed.
Worry about meaning and purpose.
Have high contrast eyes with visible whites.
I read about that in Life in Five Senses.
Hold marriage or pair bonding rituals.
Create and understand stories.
Make art and music for aesthetic purposes.
Create laws and formal justice systems.
Have a chin.
Have an exceptionally long childhood.
Create representations of things that don't exist.
Bury the dead with extensive ritual.
Lately, I've been thinking about this question, but with a new twist.
What qualities, if anything, will distinguish us humans from the creations of artificial intelligence?
I'm very curious to learn the answer.
There I go, asking an open-ended question to gain information, combining words and new ways to express a new idea, and using symbols that stand for abstract concepts.
I'm Gretchen Rubin, and I hope this makes your week a little happier.
Hi, Gretchen, Craig Robinson, and my little sister Michelle here.
We host a new podcast called IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson.
We know you're the queen of giving advice, so we wanted to get a few tips from you.
You know, Gretchen, a lot of our listeners are going through some major life changes.
What advice do you have for folks who are trying to stay grounded in the midst of major life transitions?
Craig and Michelle, I am so happy to be talking to you.
Here are a few questions that might help us gain perspective.
So consider questions like this.
What activities take up my time but are not particularly useful or stimulating for me?
Do I spend a lot of time on something that's important to someone else but is not very important to me?
If I could magically change one habit in my life, what would I choose?
And here's a question.
Would I like to have more time in solitude restorative solitude or would I like to have more time with friends?
You know, just thinking about questions like this can help us start to figure out how we might make our lives happier.
With greater self-knowledge, we're better able to make hard decisions that reflect ourselves, our own nature, our own interests, our own values.
In my own case, I have found that the more my life reflects my nature, the happier I get and the more grounded I feel when I'm going through a period of major change or transition.
For more great advice, search for IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson wherever you get podcasts.
You can listen to Issa Rae on letting go of certain friendships, Kiki Palmer on why disappointment is actually the key to career success, Seth and Lauren Rogan on caring for aging parents, and so many more.