The tiny discoveries and slight shifts in behavior from reading this book are not significant or profound, but I hope they endure the tests of time. As we finish the book and our journey together, my deepest hope is not that Beck's words stay with us, but that we are able to carry our friendships and connections with us on journeys to come...

This week's Joy Diet chapter is all about Laughter. Instead of reading ahead of time and applying Martha Beck's concepts to my daily routine, I carried the book around in my purse—unopened all week. I find this to be an ironic act of rebellion in light of my recent admission...

In my last post, I revealed my goals for November and mentioned I have struggled to make it to yoga class. Lauren admitted she has been facing the same challenge, even though we both call ourselves yoginis. The big question that comes to mind is, "why do I avoid the things I know are good for me?" If I am brutally honest with myself…

This week’s chapter in Martha Beck’s The Joy Diet is all about positive reinforcement. I am so happy that after all our hard work on nothing, truth, desire, creativity and risk it is finally time for a treat! Working through this chapter I really enjoyed cataloging my instant smile triggers and creating a list of my sensory delights...

It is hard to believe that we’re well into the middle of Martha Beck’s book, The Joy Diet. It seems to me that every week I fall behind—and then I remember this is not a race. Thinking about The Joy Diet as a practice instead of a requirement has softened me in a way that is hard to describe.

It's Week Four of The Next Chapter: The Joy Diet book club and this week we are discovering Desire. If you have read my previous Joy Diet posts, you know where I am—Nothing was a flop and I failed at Truth. I was unsure about this week's topic because the word desire makes me think of passionate love and illicit affairs—not personal growth.

When I completed the chapter I felt as though I was ready to embrace the truth, ready to uncover secrets and grow from my discoveries. Shortly after these feelings of I-can-conqueror-the-world-ness, reality smacked me in the face in the form of to-do lists, appointments and special projects. I find it a bit depressing and otherwise hilarious that I am struggling so much with this Joy Diet journey.

Before I finished reading this chapter, I assumed I knew the meaning of nothing. On the first few pages I found Martha Beck’s words, “…doing just about anything is preferable to doing nothing,” and convinced myself that I was destined for defeat – doomed to a week of 15-minute sections of required silence. This is the problem with assumptions.