100 Ways to Change Your Life by Liz Moody

The new book 100 WAYS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE by Liz Moody really surprised me – in a good way. I liked its emphasis on really creative, doable tasks. There are many specifics; for example, Moody suggests creating a rule of three or mapping your day to your energy in order to be more productive. In another sections, she comments on how to be happier (e.g., do something for someone else) or how to feel calmer (e.g., use action as an antidote to anxiety). Her focus on science and research is very helpful, too. In the section on reduce your pain, Moody frequently quotes Dr. Rachel Zoffness (a psychologist and author of The Pain Management Workbook) and the importance of looking at biological, psychological, and social factors. Moody points out that “playing with the idea of a pain recipe and a pain dial starts to illuminate the many factors at play in the experience of pain, and while not all pain is within our control, it's illuminating and wildly empowering to begin to discover just how much is.” With so many great ideas and references to additional resources (roughly ten percent of the book is notes), 100 WAYS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE would be a great book to browse or to consider as a gift. Liz Moody is the host of the top-rated The Liz Moody Podcast where, like this book, she shares interviews with experts and explores “The Science of Leveling Up Health, Happiness, Relationships & Success.”

You Are Awesome by Neil Pasricha

I love the introductory comment to YOU ARE AWESOME by Neil Pasricha: “You are what you eat. And you are what you read. Are you hungry? Let’s go.” That mirrors the vibrant energy which best-selling author Pasricha (The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Equation) brings to the rest of his writing.  In YOU ARE AWESOME he focuses on “How to Navigate Change, Wrestle with Failure & Live an Intentional Life” while developing resilience. Writing before the COVID pandemic, Pasricha said, “we need to take all the uncertainty and failure and change coming at us and use it as momentum that slingshots us forward and forward and forward.” He offers nine “research-backed” secrets and personal stories to help with that journey.  This is a very easy read that is made even easier through occasional illustrations or photos, the use of bold type to set off key points, and memorable imagery. For example, Pasricha describes his mother “adding a dot-dot-dot to the end of the sentence. Letting things happen so she could navigate forward from a position of strength rather than feeling like all her doors had closed.” Readers may have encountered these ideas in other forms (“I can’t dance … yet” as “yes, and …” or “tell yourself a different story” as reframing), but Pasricha summarizes them with a conversational, optimistic tone and employs many questions to engage his readers.  Students could readily pick up this book and become absorbed on exploring a secret a week over the course of a quarter…