#588. Gretchen Rubin on: How To Use Your Five Senses To Reduce Anxiety, Increase Creativity, and Improve Your Relationships
Today’s guest is a happiness expert and devout non-meditator. In her latest book Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World, she describes how a routine visit to her eye doctor made her realize she’d been overlooking a key element of happiness: her five senses.
Gretchen Rubin is the author of many books, including the New York Times bestsellers Outer Order, Inner Calm; The Four Tendencies; Better Than Before; and The Happiness Project. Her books have sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide, and have been translated in more than thirty languages. She also hosts the top-ranking, award-winning podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin.
In this episode we talk about:
- What led Gretchen to explore the five senses
- How we often take our senses for granted
- How our senses work with the brain to impact our perception
- The relationship between the senses and nostalgia
- The surprising power of ketchup and vanilla when it comes to the sense of taste
- The sense of hearing and what she calls her “Audio Apothecary”
- How to be a better listener
- The interplay between the senses of taste and smell
- The sense of touch and the use of comfort objects
- Why she decided to visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art everyday to explore the five senses
- And how she uses the five senses to boost creativity
Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/gretchen-rubin-588
Where to find Gretchen Rubin online:
Website: gretchenrubin.com
Social Media:
- Twitter: @gretchenrubin
- Facebook: GretchenRubin
- Instagram: @gretchenrubin
- YouTube: GretchenRubin
Book Mentioned:
Other Resources Mentioned:
- Gretchen’s Audio Apothecary
- TPH #244 Small Ways to Improve Your Everyday Life Right Now | Gretchen Rubin
- TPH #99 When It Comes to Habits, There Are Four Types of People. Which Are You? | Gretchen Rubin
- Life in Five Senses: The Happiness Project’s Gretchen Rubin and Dan Harris (Book tour event - May 2023)