Cherry-Picked: Happier Podcast

A Podcast That Will Make You Happier

I’ve forever been obsessed with getting to know myself better. I never meet a personality quiz I didn’t immediately answer. I think it’s because if you know yourself better, you can be the best version of yourself. And being you is the best way I know to be happy!

OK, this is a slight change from my usual posts about DIYing, but bare with me. Since it’s the beginning of the year and a lot of people are trying to improve and set goals in different areas of life, I thought I would share my favorite podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin.

Reasons To Listen

I enjoy listening because Gretchen and her sister, Elizabeth, give you concrete ways, big and small, to make life easier and more enjoyable.

They also share their personal happiness demerits every week and award a gold star to something or someone that added happiness to their life in the past week. It’s inspiring to know even the ‘experts’ don’t always follow their own advice.

Plus listening to 2 sisters chit-chatting and enjoying each other’s company reminds me of me and my sisters. 🙂

Bedtime Alarm

The most notable tip I’ve used from listening to this podcast is setting a bedtime alarm. Basically you set a recurring alarm on your phone to remind you when it’s time to go to bed.

I love this for so many reasons. Last year I had a yearning to read more, workout more, and go to daily Mass more. “But I’m so busy” was always my excuse.

Enter the bedtime alarm.

I have my alarm set at 8:40 PM for weekday nights. Do I always stop what I’m doing and immediately go to bed? No. But it helps me to realize that maybe mindlessly scrolling Facebook isn’t how I want to spend my time. It brings me back to reality. Usually within 20 minutes of the alarm going off, I’ll head to wash my face and then curl into bed with a book and still be asleep by 9:30-10 PM.

So bingo! It helped with one goal.

And since I’m going to bed at a more reasonable hour for my sleep-loving self, I can now wake up earlier to achieve my other 2 goals of exercise or church, depending on the day.

Four Tendencies

Gretchen has studied and written about human behavior. She developed a framework she calls The Four Tendencies. The tendencies are rebel, obliger, questioner, and upholder. She explains on her website that by knowing your tendency, you can set up situations in the ways that make it more likely that you’ll achieve your goals and aims. (Perfect for New Year’s resolutions!)

Bringing this post full-circle, yes it’s a personality quiz! Yes, I took it immediately once I heard about it on the podcast. If you really take it to heart, this can be life-changing! Using the most common New Year’s resolution as an example, if you’ve always wanted to lose weight but can never get yourself to do it. Maybe you were just going about it the wrong way for your tendency.

I’m linking the free quiz here so you can take the quiz yourself and learn more about how you can get things done!

Spoiler alert, I’m a questioner. I think that explains so much about why I love to over-explain things.?If I know the why of a situation, I’m much more likely to go along with it. But don’t ask me to do something without explaining why it needs to be done first! I’ll rebel right against you!

Subscribe to Podcasts

Podcasts are easily-listening when you’re driving, exercising, or pulling weeds around the yard. Subscribe to this, or any, podcast so the episodes automatically download and show up in your podcast app each week, making it super easy to listen! If you don’t know how to follow or subscribe to a podcast, send me an email at info@checkinginwithchelsea.com and I’ll send you a PDF!

I hope you’ll give Happier with Gretchen Rubin a listen and see if you can get any good tips for your life! If you take the quiz, comment to let me know your tendency! Or share a tip from Happier that resonates with you. Can’t wait to see them!

Thanks for Checking In! ~Chelsea