The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life

I've already mentioned my love for Brooke Castillo. Well, in one of her podcasts, she says that The Joy Diet and Finding your Own North Star by Martha Beck are in her top 5 best (self-help) books she has read in her life. After these books, it seems that Martha Beck has indulged in what Brooke Castillo calls "woo-woo", that is, cosmic energies and other new age stuff. No, thank you.

But with this book, we don't go into that. It's an accessible, funny, and even exhilarating read.

Summary

The word "diet" as used here does not belong to the field of nutrition. What we need to understand is that the elements it suggests we follow must be incorporated into our daily lives. They must be part of our routine, like a diet. Okay, that's not my favorite metaphor either.

It warns us well at the beginning, these elements must be incorporated gradually in our lives. No trying to do it all at once, no reading the book in one sitting and finding it nice and moving on. She is very convincing, so I decided to follow her advice. I've been doing Menu Item #1 for 5 days, and I won't start incorporating Menu Item #2 for another two days. Although I'm already burning to get to the end.

Then she explains the menu items one at a time:

1- Do nothing for 15 minutes. Another way of telling us to meditate. Everyone, everywhere, has been telling me to meditate for years, and I've never been able to make it a habit. I've gotten to the point where just the word "meditation" gives me a rash. So I appreciate the change in wording, which makes it less intimidating. And she talks about it in such a way that I now look forward every day to sitting in peace and just staring into space for fifteen minutes.

2- Create a moment of truth. Once the habit of doing nothing is well integrated into our routine, we can add a moment of truth at the end. It's a matter of asking ourselves a few questions to determine what's bothering us at the time: how we feel, what hurts, what story we're telling ourselves that hurts, can we be sure that this story is true, is it useful to us, and is it possible to tell ourselves another one that could be more useful? And then, to have compassion for our dark side that makes up so many horrible stories. I've been asking myself these kinds of questions here and there for a while now, and they bring a lot of clarity to my life. I can only imagine what would change if I asked myself all of them, every day.

3- Identify and explore at least one of our deepest desires. Martha Beck encourages us to honor our deepest desires, whether they are small or large. She explains how to identify them, how to determine whether they are false desires or true desires, and how to make the decision to fulfill them.

4- Find at least one concrete idea to help us get what we want. For this, she encourages us to think outside the box and accept the discomfort that inevitably comes with this kind of thinking. Because we tell ourselves that chasing our dreams is going to get us killed, and we're right. But it's worth it.

5- Take at least one action each day to get closer to our goals. It's going to be scary, that's why they call it a risk. It's not necessarily appealing, but Martha Beck explains how to choose a good risk and why it's important to take one.

6- Give yourself at least three treats every day. And by treat, she means anything that makes us smile. A treat to congratulate us for taking a risk, and two more treats just like that. It can be food, but it doesn't have to be.

7- Play. Martha Beck urges us to differentiate our work from the games we play in order to get our work done and to commit to playing with our whole being. We are far too serious in life. This element can help us to lighten up. And speaking of fun...

8- Laugh at least 30 times a day. I have no idea how many times I laugh a day. I'll have to keep track once I get here. Because 30 times a day is an absolute minimum. We have to identify what makes us laugh, then find ways to meet our quota. Every single day.

9- Create a bond with someone else. To do this, Martha Beck suggests that we go through steps 1 to 5 in the presence of someone else, which should allow us to establish a real connection with that person.

10- Enjoy at least three feasts a day. Again, it can be food feasts, or not. The important thing is to have the feeling to have a feast, that is, to fill our senses. She gives great examples, and I want to have a feast right now, but I'll do my homework first.

Impressions

When I finished this book, I was ridiculous. I was home alone and smiling for nothing. I put on some music and waddled over to make a salad. We often talk about the glasses through which we see life: mine were pink.

That's because this book has definitely made me hit my quota of laughs for the day (she's hilarious), and because it excites me. I firmly believe that if I do all of these steps every day, I will be happier. I don't see how it could be otherwise. Martha Beck allows her readers to have fun just like that, for no reason, to follow their deepest desires, and to spoil themselves every day. I think that's wonderful.