Posts Tagged ‘Happier at Home’

Thursday, March 19, 2015
8:00pm (Reception 6:30-7:30pm)

Gretchen Rubin
in conversation with Lisa Napoli

Better Than Before: 
Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives

William Turner Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Avenue,
Santa Monica, CA 90404

SOLD OUT. VIDEO WILL BE POSTED SOON.
$20 General Admission
$30 Reserved Seats
$43 Includes Rubin’s book + Seats in reserved section
$95 Includes pre-event reception + Rubin’s book + Reserved Seats 

Gretchen Rubin is a thought-provoking and influential writer on the linked subjects of habits, happiness, and human nature. She’s the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers, Happier at Home and The Happiness Project. Her books have sold more than two million copies worldwide, in more than thirty languages, and on her popular daily blog, she reports on her adventures in pursuit of habits and happiness. Rubin started her career in law, and was clerking for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized she wanted to be a writer. 

In her upcoming book, Better Than Before, Gretchen Rubin  tackles the critical question: How do we change? Her answer: through habits. Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life. It takes work to make a habit, but once that habit is set, we can harness the energy of habits to build happier, stronger, more productive lives.
 
So if habits are a key to change, then what we really need to know is: How do we change our habits?
 
Better than Before answers that question. It presents a practical, concrete framework to allow readers to understand their habits—and to change them for good. Infused with Rubin’s compelling voice, rigorous research, and easy humor, and packed with vivid stories of lives transformed, Better than Beforeexplains the (sometimes counter-intuitive) core principles of habit formation. 
 
Along the way, Rubin uses herself as guinea pig, tests her theories on family and friends, and answers readers’ most pressing questions—oddly, questions that other writers and researchers tend to ignore: 

• Why do I find it tough to create a habit for something I love to do? 
• Sometimes I can change a habit overnight, and sometimes I can’t change a habit, no matter how hard I try. Why? 
• How quickly can I change a habit? 
• What can I do to make sure I stick to a new habit? 
• How can I help someone else change a habit? 
• Why can I keep habits that benefit others, but can’t make habits that are just for me? 

As Better Than Before makes clear, and as we all know from practical experience, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. To change our habits, we must first figure out ourselves. Some people do better when they start small; others, when they start big. Some thrive with occasional breaks from good habits, while others do better when they never break the chain. When we choose the strategies that work best for us, going to the gym can be as automatic as putting on a seatbelt. Filing expense reports or passing up that piece of chocolate cake won’t drain us. With a foundation of good habits, we can build a life that reflects our values and goals.

Lisa Napoli is a career journalist who has worked at The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, and now covers arts and culture for KCRW.  She’s the author of the book, Radio Shangri-La, about her time in and around the kingdom of Bhutan, where she went to start a radio station at the dawn of democratic rule.  She’s currently at work on a biography of the late philanthropist, Joan Kroc.  She is the proud recipient of the 2014 Halo Award from the Deutsch Family Foundation for a monthly volunteer cooking group she leads at the Downtown Women’s Center on Skid Row.