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The Joy Diet

10 Daily Practices For a Happier Life

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The Joy Diet

By: Martha Beck
Narrated by: Kathe Mazur
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Discover a menu of 10 behaviors you can add to your way of living and thinking to enhance every day’s journey through the unpredictable terrain of your existence. Add these behaviors gradually and watch your life become steadily more vivid and satisfying. Or you can go on a “crash Joy Diet” to help you navigate life’s emergencies.

The 10 menu items are:

  • Nothing: Do nothing for 15 minutes a day. Stop mindlessly chasing goals and figure out which goals are worth going after.
  • Truth: Create a moment of truth to help you unmask what you’re hiding - from others and from yourself.
  • Desire: Identify, articulate, and explore at least one of your heart’s desires - and learn how to let yourself want what you want.
  • Creativity: Learn six new ways to develop at least one new idea to help you obtain your heart’s desire.
  • Risk: Take one baby step toward reaching your goal. The only rule is it has to scare the pants off you.
  • Treats: Give yourself a treat for every risk you take and two treats just because you’re you. No exceptions. No excuses.
  • Play: Take a moment to remember your real life’s work and differentiate it from the games you play to achieve it. Then play wholeheartedly.
  • Laughter: Laugh at least thirty times a day. Props encouraged.
  • Connection: Use your Joy Diet skills to interact with someone who matters to you.
  • Feasting: Enjoy at least three square feasts a day, with or without food.

No matter what your long-term goals are, The Joy Diet, written with Martha Beck’s inimitable blend of wisdom, practical guidance, and humor, will help you achieve the immediate gift of joyful living in the here and now. Begin your journey today.

©2003 Martha Beck (P)2003 Books on Tape, Inc., Published By Arrangement with Random House Audio Publishing Group, A Division of Random House, Inc. Diets, Nutrition & Healthy Eating Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Inspiring

Critic reviews

"Written in a down-to-earth, positive tone, the author's thoughtfully designed exercises, inspirational anecdotes and gentle advice should fall on fertile ground." (Publishers Weekly)
"These prescriptions will be inviting to everyone." (AudioFile)
Practical Guidance • Structured Method • Perfect Comic Timing • Insightful Advice • Humorous Approach • Friendly Voice
Highly rated for:
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I’m glad to have found this book! It was great to feel ok with doing self care, enjoying simple things, rituals, gratitude. It’s very thought provoking and I plan to buy the hard copy so I continue with the exercises described. This book is for all of us in all ways. Savor it!!

Wow!

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I love it.
Funny, good deep insight and it helped me a lot :-)

from the 50 books I heard this year - the best!

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Would you listen to The Joy Diet again? Why?

Yes. I am listening a second time now.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Joy Diet?

My son and I both enjoyed the part about giving yourself treats -- and the story of the dog Cookie, who smiles in anticipation of getting a cookie.

Which character – as performed by Kathe Mazur – was your favorite?

n/a. Kathe Mazur has great comic timing and inflection, and she has a friendly voice that's easy to listen to. She's a perfect narrator for a Martha Beck book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It helps to pause and think about each chapter and do the exercises.

Delightful book, perfect narrator

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This is, without a doubt, one of the best self help books that I've ever come across. Be prepared however for some intense learnings that may at first seem un-familiar, unless you have actually been to a therapist/counselor before. This is a high powered therapy session for the masses on tape. Having had formal training as a counselor at the Masters level, I consider the approach used here to be outstanding. This is not however a casual, read it on the beach type book. It requires effort to use these techniques, so if you really don't intend to actually DO anything in the way of improving yourself, then go find The Time Travelers Wife and download it. That one works on the beach.

Your own therapy session in a book

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The reader, Kathy Mazur, was born to read this book. She nails the wit and humility in Beck’s voice. If more self-help books took themselves less seriously, they’d help a lot more people.

Audio book readers are amazing.

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What did you love best about The Joy Diet?

The practical tools that we can use to change our lives and feel JOY on a regular basis.

What did you like best about this story?

Martha's humor makes all of her books so enjoyable to read or listen to.

Which character – as performed by Kathe Mazur – was your favorite?

Although there were no actual "Characters", Kathe Mazur did a great job "Channeling" Martha - her comic timing is perfect.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Martha talks about becoming aware of the unspoken dynamics in the family and the workplace (and society as a whole) She encourages us to "break the rules" - to say things outloud (discussing them openly and honestly) so that we do not keep following systems out of habit and ignorance. This has had great impact on my life. Go Martha!!

Any additional comments?

A must have book for your "Toolbox"

This Book Will FIll You Up!

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Kinda need a workbook-keeps referring back to menu items previously addressed-just a lot of back and forth-which is okay, but would be easier to follow IMO

For me a lot of pop psychology “stuff” but I know that’s just me!

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I read this book two years ago and followed the exercises. Since then, I've kept up only a handful of these joyful practices, and yet my life has changed tremendously since! It didn't seem like much was happening at first other than a subtle, pervasive happiness, but OMG, now I'm living such an incredible life. I am now enjoying all the things I longed for then: the career of my dreams, an incredibly loving and intimate marriage, plenty of leisure time. I decided to re-read the book this past few weeks when I set some new goals for myself and am doing a Martha Beck re-read binge. Re-reading this one in particular caused the fine hairs to raise because I could pinpoint how the joy exercises had such a massive and profound impact on my life. Thank you, Martha Beck

Worth reading again

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I loved the simplicity and genuine nature of this book!
Could not have come at a better time .

Awesome

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I based my purchased on the previous reviews and they're right on the nose, this is a great book. Every once in a while I download a winning book I could listen to repeatedly. This is the one.
Positive, insightful and I'm excited to dive in and try the suggested ingredients of the Joy Diet.

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