The Joy Diet by Martha Beck

I've read Beck's earlier work, Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live, and really enjoyed it, so I was thrilled when the library had the audio version of  The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life available when I set out on a road trip earlier this month. 

Beck's style is simple, fun and encouraging.  While the diet metaphor seems a little stretched at times, the ideas are sound and even somewhat unique. In fact, I found the ideas in the book so useful for me and my clients I purchased a hardcopy as soon as I arrived home.

Beck maintains that unlike a food diet, with the joy diet you have to take the steps in order and master each one before moving onto the next.  The first step, getting quiet and doing nothing, is probably the hardest, and she gives ideas on what to do if you have a tough time mastering it.

The ten practices (in order) are:

- Do nothing for 15 minutes

- Tell yourself the truth (through a prescribed set of questions)

- Identify and explore a deep desire

- Explore creativity in bringing about your desire

- Take small risky steps toward your desires

- Give yourself at least three treats per day, one for taking the risk and two just because

- Turn your work into play

- Laugh at least 30 times per day.  (Does that seem like a lot or a little to you?  The average adult laughs 15 times per day -- the average child 300+ times!)

- Connect with someone important to you

- Feast with or without food, in other words celebrate moments by savoring them completely