Ep. 608: Have You Ever Regretted a Good Decision? (Temporarily)

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

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SPEAKER_2 (0:33)

What do you want, Mr. Hagen?

SPEAKER_3 (0:36)

I want my life back.

SPEAKER_2 (0:39)

On October 23rd, the procedure is causing troubling physical changes. What's happening to me?

Look fear. You have to learn to control it.

Elizabeth Craft (0:49)

In the face.

SPEAKER_2 (0:50)

I have no idea who you are anymore.

Tell me who you want me to be. Create Face. Only theaters October 23rd. We did all.

Gretchen Rubin (1:07)

Hello and welcome to Happier, a podcast where we talk about strategies and suggestions for making our lives happier, healthier, more productive, and more creative. This week, we'll talk about a know yourself better question related to pets, and Elizabeth will report on her summer of off-white delight.

I'm Gretchen Rubin, a writer who studies happiness, good habits, human nature, the empty nest. I'm in my little home office here in New York City, and joining me today from Los Angeles is my sister Elizabeth Craft, my sister of the sage.

Elizabeth Craft (1:38)

That's me, Elizabeth Craft, a TV writer and producer living in LA. Gretchen, today I'm wearing red, not off-white, but red.

Gretchen Rubin (1:46)

Right. You're going hard into color now.

Elizabeth Craft (1:48)

Yes.

Gretchen Rubin (1:49)

Well, we will hear all about it. A reminder, our conversation with the number one New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coban about his new book, Plot Twist, which is a memoir of life and of writing, super charming. That is coming up. So get your book, get reading, and send us your questions and comments because we are so looking forward to that conversation.

Elizabeth Craft (2:09)

Yes. Gretchen, we have a couple updates before we dive in. Katie said, I laughed at your comments about Midwestern Jell-O. My husband's parents grew up in the Midwest and he and his siblings have never let their mother live down a Jell-O incident. She'd made a meal that they didn't really like. It was some sort of green casserole, but they knew there was Jell-O for dessert to look forward to. But the Jell-O had whipped cream in it so they couldn't see what was in it, which turned out to be celery.

A meal they will never forget for the wrong reasons.

Gretchen Rubin (2:43)

Well, this is a good example of how mishaps sometimes make the best memories. The Jell-O that went wildly off the rails is the one that you remember for years. Love that.

Elizabeth Craft (2:52)

Yes.

Gretchen Rubin (2:52)

Jell-O has so much potential.

Then Teresa had a good idea for Do Spend September. I ordered my photo Christmas cards. I bought the stamps to put on them. I wrote the checks to nieces, nephews, and cousins. The cards are all ready to go. When December comes, a large chunk of my Christmas expenses and chores are done. So that's a really good idea. If you use Do Spend September to get a jump on expenses and also work, that has to be done later. Love that idea.

Elizabeth Craft (3:21)

Yes.

Gretchen Rubin (3:22)

This week, I tried this at-home suggestion is to figure out your tendency.

We're doing this just because we talk about the tendencies often, but we assume that everybody knows what they are, and I'm sure that a lot of people have not taken the quiz yet. They haven't found out their tendency, which is fine. There is no homework for this podcast. It does come often and listeners often will mention it, even in a separate context. We thought it would be useful to just go through it briefly. So people have a sense of what it is and what their tendency is.

Elizabeth Craft (3:54)

Yes. Gretchen, I'm so familiar with the tendencies, and they're so in my life that I'll be talking to someone and mention being an obliger, and I'll forget that every single person does not know about the tendencies. Yes. Then of course, I'll have to inform them of what I'm talking about. But yeah, let's talk about it for everybody who does not know about the tendencies.

Gretchen Rubin (4:16)

Now, I will say this, is that when I start explaining it, if you don't know what it is, you'll start to think, okay, this sounds pretty dry, so specific, does it really matter? But what turns out is that if you really figure it out, it is very juicy information, it's very useful, it will reveal so much about you and the people around you and even like characters on television shows.