Everyday Wellness with Cynthia Thurlow ™ cover image

Everyday Wellness with Cynthia Thurlow ™

Ep. 451 Secrets of Adulthood: Truths for Major Life Transitions with Gretchen Rubin

Mar 26, 2025
59:18

I am delighted to connect with Gretchen Rubin today. She is one of the most insightful and influential observers of happiness and human nature today, with a remarkable gift for clearly conveying complex ideas from science, literature, and her life experiences engagingly, with a lighthearted touch. Gretchen has written many bestselling books, including her latest, Secrets of Adulthood


In our conversation today, we explore the open-door metaphor and the concept of drift in Secrets of Adulthood, and Gretchen explains how the proverbs she used in it can help us shape our most significant life choices. 


You will love this invaluable conversation with Gretchen Rubin. She is one of my favorite podcast hosts and authors, with a remarkable talent for conveying information and emotion beautifully and thoughtfully.


IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:

  • Gretchen shares her open door metaphor and explains why she likes to use the term open door instead of empty nest
  • How the concept of drift has tied into Gretchen’s career
  • Gretchen describes her writing process
  • How her legal training helped her as a writer
  • How writing Secrets of Adulthood helped Gretchen clarify her thinking and understand the paradoxes in human nature
  • Why procrastination can be good or bad and how delaying decisions may lead to worse outcomes
  • Why regret is often unavoidable when making tough decisions
  • Gretchen highlights the value of embracing risk
  • Some different ways to approach desire
  • The difference between moderation and abstinence


Connect with Cynthia Thurlow  


Connect with Gretchen Rubin

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