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Hello and welcome to Happier, a podcast where we talk about becoming happier.
This week, we will talk about choosing your one word theme for the year.
We will review our experiences with our word for this year and reveal our words for next year.
Plus, we share a hack for a fun and original way to celebrate the new year.
I'm Gretchen Rubin, a writer who studies happiness, good habits, human nature.
I'm in a home office and joining me today from Los Angeles is my sister, Elizabeth Craft.
And Elizabeth, I love you. picking our one word themes for the year.
I love hearing what your choice is.
That's me, Elizabeth Kraft, a TV writer and producer living in L.A.
And yes, Gretchen, I have come up with my word.
I was having trouble, as you know, but I landed on it and I'm very passionate about it.
Excellent.
But before we jump in, we got a few updates.
And this one is a Five Senses update.
So I particularly love this because, of course, ever since I wrote Life in Five Senses, I love anything related to the Five Senses.
Ashley writes.
I recently needed a hair product with more hold for my four-year-old son and found some old herbal essence spray gel from the back of the bathroom cabinet.
After spraying it on my son's hair, my seven-year-old daughter said, I smell a memory.
She remembers the scent from when I used to use it on her hair when she was younger.
It tickled me and made me think of you, so I had to share.
I love that.
I love, what a fun thing to say.
I smell a memory.
That's such a beautiful way to put that.
I love it.
And Gretchen, Jane had something to say about taking the trip.
We had to try this at home, which was take the trip.
She said at 7.30 a.m., the sky is starting to lighten with a rosy color over the red tile roofs.
Reminds me of the rosy finger dawn from the Odyssey a new day and a fresh and young beginning of what is to come.
I'm listening to your podcast at my kitchen table in my small apart hotel.
Never heard that, Gretchen.
I guess it's an apartment hotel.
Yeah, that's cool.
Apart hotel.
Okay.
Apart hotel.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for having me was very important to her and she left most of her money to the university where she taught to the international education program.
I decided this was a way to honor her and to honor myself.
I also decided to take this trip by myself.
My husband walked the Camino by himself 10 years ago.
This is my Camino.
This is so wonderful.
I love this.
Yes, such a great way. said to honor her cousin and herself.
That's such a great reminder.
Take the trip.
So this week, our Try This at Home suggestion is to choose your one-word theme for the year.
Now, choosing the one-word theme for the year is part of the Design Your Year program.
So there's the yearly challenge.
This year we had read 25 in 25, and we've had rest and walk and go outside.
And then there's making the yearly list, like the 25 for 25 list that we've done for several years.
And we will be talking about our ideas for 2026 in the upcoming episodes.
Super fun to reveal those.
Now, Elizabeth, have you finalized your 26 for 26 list yet?
No, I have not.
No.
I have way more than 26 items, so I'm going to have to buckle down and figure out what I want to do.
But this week, we're talking about the one-word theme.
And this is when you identify— kind of your overarching aim for the next year, what you want the year to hold, and you summarize it in a word or a phrase.
Yes, I love this, Gretchen.
Yes, and over the years, we have found a couple things about picking the one-word theme.
First of all, it's great if it has... multiple levels of meaning.
When you picked novel and it was partly because you wanted to work on a novel, writing a novel, but you also wanted to do new things.
So it had multiple meanings.
It's great when it's something that can be visualized, or if you find a way to interpret it visually so that you can have a mug or a piece of jewelry or a T-shirt that helps remind you of your one-word theme.
The most important thing is that it captures some aspect of what you want the future year to hold for you.
Yes.
And I like it to be a positive word, or a word that to me feels positive and like having momentum as opposed to a just blah word.
Yeah.
And along those lines, I think that a concrete word is much more powerful than an abstract word.
The more abstract it is, I think it just doesn't have the same punch.
Yes.
But so, Elizabeth, let's go over some of our previous years.
So what have you had in previous years?
Yeah, so I had free time style hot wheels.
That was the year I got a car novel, as you said, home control.
Number six, that was related to being diabetic.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Lighter.
Mm-hmm.
Butterfly.
That was after COVID when I wanted to be a social butterfly.
Yes.
Right.
Step and book.
Yes.
Yes.
And then this year, Gretchen, I had bounce.
Yeah, so remind us of why you chose bounce.
Well, bounce I like because, again, it's a very fun, positive word.
Yes.
It's almost a goofy word.
Yes.
So many people wanted me to use Tigger as my symbol, you know, because Tigger bounces.
Yes, that's right.
I just don't relate to Tigger.
So that didn't work for me.
But here are some of the things about bounce.
It referred to me doing more cardio at Orange Theory, bouncing up and down on the treadmill.
Because on your 25 for 25, you had that you wanted to do Orange Theory how many times?
A hundred times.
Wow.
Okay.
So that's a lot of bouncing.
Still working on it.
Okay.
I also wanted to bounce back in the Hollywood situation because you know, Hollywood has taken a tumble.
So working on bouncing back.
Yeah.
After the strike and all that.
Yeah.
And then I like the idea of bouncing into the future because you know, I have that thing I say of step into the future.
But I thought well, bouncing into the future is even better.
Yes.
I think a lot of what you wanted was resilience, but the word resilience is not fun.
And it's also kind of overused and it's very abstract.
Bounce, there's an airiness to it.
There's an energy to it.
There's a positivity to it.
That's very exciting.
Yes.
And then Gretchen, I landed on a kangaroo for my symbol for bounce, because obviously kangaroos bounce.
Also like that they box so they hunch their way forward.
Yeah.
And many listeners said although it turns out not to be strange, strictly true that kangaroos only move forward, which who knew?
So that's a fun thing too.
So that turned out to be a great symbol.
And I got a beautiful handmade mug.
With a kangaroo on it.
And what I love about it is I'll keep it probably forever and it'll always remind me of that.
The word bounce.
It's funny, Alyssa, whenever I come to your house, I'm like, let's clear the clutter in your office.
This was your team theme, Roar 24.
And I gave you that bookmark with the lion on it.
You have all of these artifacts around.
And I do too, but I guess I notice them more when I'm at your place because when it's your own stuff there is a worry that things just fade into the background because you're so used to them.
But when I see something in your house, I'm like, oh, I remember lightning bolt.
Yes.
One thing I have paid more attention to in recent times is to choose something with my symbol that I do want to keep because I like having those artifacts.
Yes.
So I want to get something nice.
Like last year, for Christmas I got Sarah a really nice little tray from John Darien with her feather symbol.
And I'm sure she'll keep that.
And it's just kind of a nice continuity thing.
If it was important to you one year, it's probably important to you forever.
One of the points of having these artifacts is to visually remind you of this aim for yourself.
So when you see the kangaroo, you'll remember, okay, I want to bounce.
I want to be resilient.
I want to have that airiness.
I want to step into the future.
It carries all those ideas with it.
Yes.
But how about you, Gretchen?
Let's go over some of your words and your word of 2025.
So I have to say Elizabeth, I learned from you over the years because I had years where they were pretty boring and dull and then I caught from you how to do a better job.
So I think my more recent ones are better than my earlier ones.
So I had upgrade bigger, lighten up repurpose, delegate infrastructure growth, open salt wave and revisited.
And the fact is, all of these really were important to me.
As I see them, I'm like, I still talk about repurposing all the time.
It's a huge aim of mine, and it's super important.
But it's not so... interesting.
Yes, like I love salt and wave are my two favorite of yours.
Well, speaking of the visual symbol, I picked the great wave, which turns out to be the most reproduced artwork in the world right now.
You know, The Great Wave by Hokusai.
So whenever I would see it in the world, I would be reminded, oh, it's the wave.
And people would send me, oh, what about this Lego set?
And what about this coloring book?
It was a very fun thing to tap into.
And of course, it would remind me of my one word theme.
And then I love salt.
I have a really... almost mystical reverence for salt.
That came out of writing Life in Five Senses and understanding how truly extraordinary salt is this magical substance.
And so now I feel like even when I see a salt shaker in a diner, I'm like, I give respect to salt.
So that was a really powerful word too.
Love that.
And then what was your word this year?
So this year I debated and debated between stone and door.
And I do love stone.
Like stone is a really... powerful word.
But in the end I picked door because of course I'm in the season of the open door, which is my rebranding of the empty nest.
And to me, the word door is...
I can go out into the world and I can also come back.
It's a word of hospitality, but it's also a word of refuge.
It's a word of transition because I'm in a transition time.
It's very physical, like I think doors are really interesting.
In mythology doors thresholds transitions, crossroads these are often considered to be places of great power and danger and opportunity.
And so it's been interesting for me to just explore the doerness of it.
And so I've really enjoyed that symbol.
I think it was a really good symbol for me for this year, but most of all, because of Open Door.
And did you end up picking like one door as your personal symbol for the year, or was it just all doors?
You know, I was sort of hoping that I would find a physical thing.
And I have to say, on my book tour gold gold, gold star, some reader gave me a frame door with a knocker and it just stands.
And I'm like very excited.
I'm going to set it up on a bookcase.
I have a whole place set up for it.
I haven't done it yet because of reasons that became a visual symbol.
And that just magically came to me during my book tour for Secrets of Adulthood.
So I did actually get a physical thing that sits on a shelf that is the door.
But I didn't find a necklace or, you know, a tote bag or a mug or something like that, because door is just a part of something.
So i was very excited to get that.
Yes, and now when you see it, you'll remember that.
No, and i'll have it out for the rest of my life.
Yes, door is one i could see myself borrowing in the future when jack goes to college.
Yes that's, That's true.
Yes.
You're welcome to share.
Thank you.
All right, Gretch, coming up, we are going to reveal our words for 2026.
But first, this break.
It seems like the holidays just came on so incredibly fast.
I can't believe they're here.
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Thank you so much for joining us.
Mm-hmm.
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Okay, Elizabeth, what is your word for 2026?
And for people who don't remember, explain how you were having trouble.
You usually don't have trouble, but this year you did.
Yes, Gretchen, I was talking on More Happier about how I was having trouble coming up with my word.
I don't know why.
Normally a word just appears to me and it's very clear and I know what it is.
This year, I really had to think about okay, what do I want and how do I want to represent that?
I told you I considered the word beauty because I wanted to one, look better and two, appreciate the beauty around me.
But again, beauty is such a kind of generic word.
Didn't feel right.
Didn't quite get to where I wanted to go.
Did you have like a long list that you were considering, or was it like no, you were just coming up with them one at a time?
No, I didn't have a long list at all.
I was just coming up with them one at a time.
And then once this came to me, I immediately knew that was the word.
Okay, so what is it?
It is X-Ray.
Okay, explain.
I love it.
It's so concrete and it's from a whole different part of the world of symbols.
So what is the x-ray?
What does that mean?
So x-ray is because I really want to look within and find my peace, my happiness, all of that.
I really want to look within and that was sort of the beauty of it.
You know, I wanted to appreciate beauty, but I really want to look Interesting.
Which I often don't do, despite the fact that, you know, we're always analyzing everything.
Yeah.
So I want to be good with self, which is looking inward, but then I also want to have x-ray vision for the future, especially the future of Hollywood.
I want to be able to look ahead and see what's happening and act accordingly.
What I love is that it's two opposites, which is looking within, but then also looking out and ahead.
That's so interesting because it has to do with deepening perceptions.
The perception that's going on inside yourself, but then it's also the perception of what's going out into the world.
To me, x-ray vision has a feel of future, right?
Like, again, bouncing into the future.
Right. envisioning the future, but at the same time being good with what is.
But it's also about seeing below surfaces, or not getting distracted by what's on the top, but really penetrating to what is the essence, or what are the deeper trends, or what does it all mean?
How are you diagnosing what's going on so that you're responding properly.
And my whole thing is identify the problem.
And this is one of the things I'm writing about in my open door book, which is, if you don't identify the problem, you can't come up with the correct solution.
And so it's really important to understand what's going on so that you can take the right action?
And as you're navigating the changes in Hollywood, are you diagnosing what's happening?
Yes, that is a great point.
It's funny.
I was hearing a futurist talk and he said What we do as futurists is we don't think about the future at all.
We only try to understand very clearly what is happening right now.
He said, most people don't really understand what's happening right now.
And if you understand what's happening right now, you have a much better handle on what might happen in the future.
And I thought that was so interesting, because it is.
It's really hard to understand what is happening right now.
Yes.
Oh, that's so interesting.
Well, what is the symbol going to be?
Okay, well, it's not going to be an x-ray, if that's what anyone is thinking.
Okay, it's like a broken bone.
Or like a spoon inside somebody's stomach or something.
That's not fun.
It is an X. And that X stands to me, in addition for x-ray, it's X marks the spot.
An X is also a kiss, which I like because that's a very positive. thing, a kiss.
Yes.
One of my symbols this year was a bee, because Sarah and I had a team theme which was fantastic flower and fly 2025 and our symbol was a B and I got a B ring.
So I've been looking at X rings of which there are a selection.
So I'm going to get a nice ring that is in the shape of an X and, And I think that'll be a really nice visual reminder that I can wear.
I like wearing my visual reminders in big meetings.
Like I wear my B ring when we pitch.
It's like a good luck symbol.
Yes.
Yeah.
Yes, it becomes a talisman.
So I'm very excited about it.
After having had trouble with it, now I'm all about... my one word theme and my symbol.
I feel like it's so imaginative.
That is just not a word or a concept that I would have ever thought of in this context.
And it has that multiple layers of meaning.
Oh, you know what always makes me... Well, maybe this is X marks the spot.
But when I think of an X, I also think of like a treasure map where X is where the treasure is.
Yes.
This is the place to focus or this is the place... where you'll find what you're looking for.
Yes.
Oh, I love that.
Yes.
The treasure map.
See, it just keeps going.
It just keeps going.
And that is the mark of a really, really good one-word theme is that it has multiple layers of meaning and can be invoked in many different contexts.
So, well done, Elizabeth.
It was worth the wait.
Okay, Gretchen, so what is your 2026 word?
Okay, so this year I debated.
I had two words that I really wanted to...
I was really debating.
So the first one, and I kind of think this is what I'm going to pick next year.
So, okay, this is maybe foreshadowing, but flower.
Ever since I wrote Life in Five Senses, I've realized how much I love flowers.
They are beautiful.
There's scent, which you know I love the sense of smell.
There's sight, it's nature, it's beautiful.
I love fake flowers.
I love real flowers.
Should I have flower or flowers?
And then I thought flower, because then it can be a noun and a verb and I want to grow and flourish and be beautiful and all these things.
And I love that word, but It's not the word I chose.
I picked the word neighbor.
I love it.
Yeah.
And this was a word, and I'd forgotten this, except I was reviewing my one-word themes and my annual lists.
I was looking back through them.
And I realized that in 2024, this was a theme that I added in along the way.
And so clearly it's been in my mind for a long time.
But I feel like neighbor is what is called for now.
I feel like the energy and focus that I want to put out into the world is neighbor.
So I've picked neighbor.
I like that, Gretchen.
It's very transcendent and it's profound.
The thing is it's also.
I'm kind of like it's going to be a lot of work, because one of the things that I want to do is I want to be more neighborly in my neighborhood.
Talk to people in my neighborhood.
Like when I'm out walking my dogs, not just saying like, oh, hi, but really try to connect.
Remember that.
Their dog's name.
I always act like, oh, these people are never going to show up again.
I'm like, yes, they are.
They live in my neighborhood and they walk a dog in the morning just like I do.
Or when I'm in a store or I'm at a conference, really try to engage with people.
I do tend to withdraw and kind of like infiltrate. in my own world.
I think I'm an extroverted person, but I'm not super outgoing in a neighborly way.
And yet I know that it would make me happier.
All the research suggests that being close to your neighbors makes you happier.
Having positive encounters is energizing for introverts and extroverts alike.
So having these little moments.
And then also it ties into my idea of culture.
You know, I've had all these aims about my 30 days of culture and wanting to go to the museum every day.
But really a big thing of culture is just trying to be interested in how other people see the world, having that expressed in an elevated and deliberate way.
And so for me, neighbor is also availing myself of that, so that I do see the world through other people's eyes.
And I am experiencing... other people's perceptions, insights, observations.
I want to connect with my actual neighbors and my friends.
I want to be friendlier and more open to strangers.
I want to open myself up to the world, to be more willing to tolerate disagreement, more open to other people's views.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
I really want to have that energy.
I really want to go neighbor.
I think what's interesting about that Gretchen, is that a neighbor is someone who you connect with sort of on a human level, right.
Your neighbor is on your block.
Yes.
What you have in common is that you're humans living on this block together.
Yes.
But you can... still keep each other's keys and bring each other casseroles.
So I love that.
As the holidays get closer, I always start thinking about ways to give gifts that feel really personal, things that connect to memories or shared experiences.
And that is why I love using Shutterfly.
It's such a simple way to take the photos we already have all those great moments sitting on our phones and turn them into something lasting and meaningful.
One of my favorite holiday traditions actually involves Shutterfly.
Just about every year, I make custom photo mugs for my parents.
It's become something we all look forward to.
In my family we drink a lot of coffee, so mugs are always welcome.
I choose photos that capture special moments from the past 12 months, and it's always fun to look back and see how much has changed.
It's such an easy gift to make, and it really brings joy every time.
Every time I go home to Kansas City.
We're all constantly using the mugs from across the years, so it's fun to see them still in rotation and be reminded of all the happy times we've shared.
Also, as my sister Elizabeth often points out, any gift that has been personalized or customized feels especially thoughtful and meaningful.
Now I also use Shutterfly to create photo books, which ties into one of my favorite.
Happiness aims to be a storehouse of happy memories.
Every year, I make a yearly list tied to the year.
So for example, in 2025, I made a list of 25 things I wanted to get done in 2025.
Every year on this list, I include the item Make Photo Albums.
And this will be the very first thing I add to my 26 for 26 list.
Around the holidays.
Each year I go through the pictures on my phone and pick my favorites to put into photo books.
I always have so many photos that I make multiple books.
It's like a mini reflection exercise, a way to celebrate all the little moments that made the year special.
I use these books as a kind of family diary of the places we went and the things we did.
My daughters will often pull out one of our many photo books at random and pour over the photos from the previous years.
It's always fun to scroll through the photos of the previous year and be reminded of all our adventures.
This past year will feature a lot of photos of our new puppy, Taffy.
The reading retreat that I took with my sister Elizabeth this summer, a family vacation to Croatia with my in-laws.
I'm always surprised to see just how much happens in a year.
I don't have a great memory.
So it makes me very happy to memorialize everything in a photo album so I don't forget about the things that have happened.
And Shutterfly makes it so simple.
I always use their autofill feature, which arranges your photos automatically, but it's also easy to make changes if you want.
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I have dozens, dozens of these photo books.
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But so, okay, here's this idea.
Side note this is an idea where I wish I could just make this happen, because I love this idea so much.
So here's my idea, and I feel like it's very neighbor.
We are coming up on the 250th anniversary of the United States.
And if I were the boss of the world, what I would do is I would have a celebration of states.
And so every month, or however often, a different state would take a turn.
And there would be a celebration of that state.
And there would be a huge gathering where the celebrities of that state they would perform, or readers would read singers would sing, actors would perform something.
So many states have like a song that everybody in the country loves, like Sweet Home, Alabama or whatever.
We'd talk about their cuisine and maybe there'd be like a documentary that would be shown.
That would be like Highlights from their history and cool tourist things to do.
Who knew that you could do this in Missouri?
Nebraska, it's not for everyone or whatever it might be.
Because I think there's so much in the States that we don't even know about in the United States and it would get everybody really excited to travel and experience different states.
We'd all learn about our history as the United States.
We would all feel closer because we would all know more about other states.
I would just love the neighborhood of states to feel more energized.
That is my dream, is to be the emcee of that, where you're just, come on down North Dakota.
It's your chance to shine.
And for a month, we'd just be like, Whoa, who knew there was so much cool about North Dakota?
Yes, every state is glorious in its own way.
Every state is glorious in its own way.
But so what should my visual be for neighbor?
Of course, the first thing one thinks of is Mr. Rogers.
Mr Rogers, because he says won't you be my neighbor, which is a beautiful phrase.
Theme question won't you be my neighbor?
So in a way, that's what I'm saying to the world.
Won't you be my neighbor?
But also I need to be the Mr. Rogers who is inviting that.
So with Mr Rogers.
If you were using Mr Rogers as your inspiration, rather than Mr Rogers himself, you could use a cardigan.
He has an iconic cardigan.
Or the trolley.
He has the trolley that would come through.
Yeah. every episode.
And a trolley is a very neighborly thing.
It is a very neighborly thing.
That's good.
That's not an obvious symbol for neighbors.
So that's interesting.
Okay.
I was thinking about Mr. Rogers, so that got me thinking about Sesame Street.
And if you remember the song of Sesame Street, it goes, come and play.
Everything's A-OK.
Friendly neighbors there.
That's where we meet.
Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?
So there's the Sesame Street neighbors.
Okay, but here's another symbol, very different, a cup of sugar.
Because I think of when you say, keep your keys, that's a thing neighbors do.
But you also say, would you borrow a cup of sugar?
And there's that great OutKast song, Hey Ya, which I love.
One of the lines is, lend me some sugar.
I am your neighbor.
I've been looking for all these incidences of neighbor.
So I do think that cup of sugar is interesting.
But again, you're not going to have a ring that has a cup of sugar.
You're not going to get a t-shirt that has a cup of sugar.
That's not very good.
Right.
Yeah.
You also were thinking about a welcome mat.
Maybe a welcome mat. is good.
Now, you're not going to get a welcome mat t-shirt, but I could literally get a welcome mat that says welcome.
That would be good.
I could get a dollhouse welcome mat and put it on the shelf by my desk.
There's something kind of interesting about that.
And what I like about welcome mat is it ties to door.
Yes, it does.
Perfect transition.
People are saying, you don't want to be a doormat.
So I'm not a doormat.
It's a welcome mat.
Very different.
Right.
But then another thing that I was thinking about neighbor is so Giving Tuesday is an organization that I love.
And the whole idea of Giving Tuesday is there's Black Friday, there's Cyber Monday, and these are all about spending and buying.
But Giving Tuesday is a day where-
You think about where are you going to give, because something that can happen at any time often happens at no time.
So let's pick a date.
It's Giving Tuesday.
This year is December 2nd.
And so I was thinking for Giving Tuesday, what would I give to that would be the most neighborly.
What is the neighborly organization?
So I was thinking maybe a food bank.
Maybe that's kind of like the cup of sugar idea.
You think of neighbors like the New York Common Pantry or something.
But that was a good idea of How do you make a decision based on your one word theme?
Right.
Right.
If my theme is neighbor, I would make a different decision than if my theme were something like read book.
Then I would be like no, I'll give to the New York Public Library or whatever.
So I thought that was a fun thing.
Yes.
So you're still settling on your symbol, sounds like.
Yeah.
But I'm thinking maybe a welcome mat.
That might be the best. because it ties to door.
But I do like the way yours lends itself to the mug, t-shirt, jewelry.
So I'm going to keep thinking.
Anyway, listeners, if you have any idea, how would you turn neighbor into a visual symbol?
Now, listen, you and Sarah, you mentioned you had your team theme of Flower and Hive 2020.
What was it?
Flower and fly 2025.
And then B was our symbol.
And then we would have a hive 25, which was when we would get together and work.
That's right.
And again, I think we'll keep the term Hive 25 because we love it.
Sure, yeah.
Stay tuned.
We'll be talking about our theme for 2026 on Happier in Hollywood.
And how about you, Gretchen?
Does your team have a theme?
Yes, our team theme is disability.
So distill is to extract the essential meaning or most important aspects of something, And that relates to a lot of things that we're going to do in 2026.
So that turns out to be a really helpful team theme for us.
And when I think of distill, I think of like a beaker, like a very old fashioned beaker with drops of clear liquid just dropping in drip drip drip, with only the essence of something.
And so I feel like that's distill.
I like that word.
There's an efficiency element to the word distill.
Yes, there's an efficiency element.
So let us know if you do try this at home and how choosing a one-word theme works for you.
What did you choose last year?
How did it work for you?
What are you choosing for this year?
We cannot get enough.
Love to hear these words.
People come up with the most imaginative terms and I think it really gets people's imaginations firing to hear what other people have chosen.
And by the way, it's completely fine to use someone else's theme as your own theme.
That is absolutely permitted.
Let us know on Instagram threads, TikTok, Facebook.
Drop us an email at podcast at GretchenRubin.com.
Or as always, you can go to the show notes.
This is happiercast.com slash 563 for everything related to this episode.
All right, Gretch, coming up, we've got a New Year's Eve hack.
But first, this break.
Thank you.
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The holidays are such a joyful time, but let's be honest, they can also be a lot.
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Okay, this hack comes from our listener Misty, and there's a lot of people who don't enjoy a traditional New Year's Eve, and she has a different way to approach it.
That sounds like a lot of fun.
Yeah, she said.
We draw tarot cards for the upcoming year, one for each month and one card as the theme of the year, and then we review our cards from the year before.
We spend time talking about our goals our struggles and achievements.
I make a huge pot of from scratch beef stew and we drink wine and just celebrate the turning of a new year.
Even though there are only a few people, it still feels like a part, because it's a tradition we've done for several years in a row.
Well, Gretchen, I would love to spend my New Year's Eve this way.
Yes.
We had said that it took eight people to be a party, but I think maybe you don't need eight people.
It's more like the party spirit is the party spirit.
And I think it sounds like so much fun.
I love the tradition and it's a great way to look back, look forward, which is such a great way to head into the new year.
Yeah.
Yes, Misty, we love it.
And now for demerits and gold stars.
Gretchen, it's your turn this week for a happiness demerit.
Okay, so this is a demerit that I've given to myself before, but I have to give it to myself again so that I remember not to do it.
So I was in bed and I had a thought of something really important.
And I was like, oh, this is a really important, useful idea.
It's so important and so useful that there's no way I'll forget it.
And Elizabeth, you can guess what happened.
You forgot what happened.
I forgot it.
I distinctly remembered having the thought, oh, this is so important that I won't forget it.
And then I forgot it.
And so my demerit is that I didn't write it down.
And Elizabeth-
One of the things that you happiness bullied me into was watching Mad Men.
You said it was great and that I would love it.
And you were a thousand percent correct.
I love, love, love Mad Men.
And there is an amazing scene in Mad Men.
I'll put a link in the show notes where the character Paul Kinsey forgets to write something down And a whole scene comes.
It's about an ad campaign that they're trying to do for Western Union Telegram.
It's amazing.
So I'll put that link in the show notes.
But it's a good reminder.
There is no idea that is so big that you will not forget it.
That is just the truth.
Yes, true, true.
Lesson I learned. learn over and over again.
Oh, yeah.
So, Lisa, take us up.
What's your gold star?
Okay, I am giving my gold star to a television show called It is to Squid Game.
The Challenge Season 2 on Netflix.
Gretchen, you know I love a good reality competition like Survivor.
Yeah.
I thought how could they come up with something totally different and fresh and new?
But that's Right.
Compelling.
Great characters.
Well Squid Game.
The Challenge season two I haven't seen season one, I will see.
It is absolutely fantastic.
It is based on, as you might guess, the drama show Squid Game.
It is adults vying for over $4 million, playing games similar to what they play in Squid Game.
Instead of being killed, they are shot with a paintball.
And it is just amazing.
Edge of your seat yelling at the TV, loving the people, hiding your eyes, binge-worthy.
It's fantastic.
Oh, my gosh.
You've gotten me wanting to watch it.
I don't usually like that kind of show, but it sounds so good.
It's great.
I love it.
So if you're looking for something over the holidays to watch with the family, this is super fun.
Excellent.
We'll see you next time.
And if you need more help, there are five gift guides and the gift appreciation quiz at happiercast.com slash gift giving.
Lots of ideas and guidance there.
Alyssa, what are we reading?
What are you reading?
I am right now just keeping up with my daily War and Peace reading by Leo Tolstoy.
And I am reading Lake Effect by Cynthia Dupree Sweeney.
And that's it for this episode of Happier.
Remember to try this at home.
Choose your one word theme for the year.
Let us know what you picked.
We want to know.
Thanks to our executive producer, Chuck Reed, and everyone at Lemonada.
And here's your rhyming reminder, and we really mean it very sincerely.
If you're a fan of the podcast, review it fast.
It really helps other people discover the show.
Until next week, I'm Elizabeth Kraft.
And I'm Gretchen Rubin.
Thanks for joining us Onward and Upward.
Listen, one of the things that I think about x-rays is all the like funny x-rays where it's like a dog's stomach with a
Christmas ornament in it or whatever.
There's a lot of sort of comical things with x-ray.
I feel like there's a lot of New Yorker cartoons with x-ray jokes.
I bet that you're going to find a ton of material about x-rays.
Yes.
Or a lot of Gary Larson cartoons.
We got to look up the Gary Larson x-ray.
I'm confident there's a Gary Larson cartoon.
Yes.
From the Onward Project.
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?
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 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.
