Recommended Readings 

Tiny shifts lead to big changes over time. This simple, yet effective tenet encapsulates the primary message in this ground-breaking book. In fact, Clear purports that if we can strive to be 1% better each day for a year, we will be 37 times better in the end. How do we become 1% better? We use Clear’s formula based on the four laws of behavior change, combined with The Habit Loop. 

The four laws are:

1. Make it obvious.
2. Make it attractive.
3. Make it easy. 
4. Make it satisfying. 

The Habit Loop is composed of this feedback pattern:

1. Cue
2. Craving
3. Response
4. Reward

Let’s merge the 4 laws with The Habit Loop and make this real! As a former school district behavior specialist, I had seen these principles work over and over in students, so I was motivated to make it personal! Heading into menopause, I knew I should get back to weight training. But I had simply lost that habit. I used Clear’s formulas and now I am back to lifting light weights almost daily. (Clear urges us to “never miss twice” in any new habit. Jump back on the wagon as fast as you can!) Before I outline how I created a new daily system, I must mention my favorite trick from the book. It’s called ”habit stacking.” Habit stacking is taking an automated habit you already perform regularly and stacking the new behavior on top of it. For me, it was brushing my teeth. I’m already going to do that habit with little effort or reminder. So, I decided to stack my weight lifting right after I brushed my teeth each morning. Putting it all together, here’s how I achieved my new weighty routine. 1. I made it obvious (cue) by placing my new shiny hand-weights in the bathroom where I would see them as I brushed my teeth. (They are so obvious, my teenage son tried to steal them!) 2. I made it attractive (craving) by using “temptation bundling”. I linked a gratifying “want” with this new behavior that I “had” to do. After habit stacking on top of my teeth brushing, I temptation bundled by listening to an audiobook I was really into while lifting the weights. 3. I made it easy (response) by allowing myself to only do 1 longish set and applied the 2-minute rule and then I was DONE. 4. I made it satisfying (reward) by using positive reinforcement when I was finished. I simply allowed myself to sit in my favorite spot in my house (my treehouse balcony) and listen to the end of my audiobook chapter before I launched into the rest of the day. 

As we enter into a new year of 1% better days, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this mighty book. I promise you will never regret each 2-minute investment in your new habit.

 Reviewed by Heather Goodwin, MA, HHP, MBSR-P
Director of Holistic Therapy Services

Raise your hand if you are a closet perfectionist? Keep your hand up if you feel like you were genetically wired to please the world? Well, my friends, you aren’t alone. If you can relate, grab this authentic autobiographic journey, where the author recounts how she reclaimed and transformed her burned-out lifestyle to one of peace and presence.
The story begins with the reader meeting Niequist, a perfectionist in her mid-30’s, who has been married for 11 years, who has two young kids, and who is well known for her very successful writing career. And…her favorite word until now has always been “YES!” (She even has a T-shirt that says “yes” on it. )
One Saturday, laying exhausted on a hotel bed while traveling for work, she realizes that she’s utterly burned out and proclaims, “I’M DONE!” She is instantly aware of the years she ignored her body’s signals and tried to outrun her feelings. From here, she introduces the reader to a powerful analogy she calls a “Sea Change,” taken from Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. A “Sea Change” is a metaphor for being thrown into the ocean and rising out of the water as a new person. (For her, like a baptism!)
Niequist further explains that a “Sea Change” is a journey from one way of living to another. In this profound, yet simple book she outlines the value of choosing a purposeful rebuilding of one’s frantic/busy/people-pleasing/groundless/overwhelming life from the ground up. Choosing, on purpose, to say “no” more often and creating new space to live in the present. She is adamantly convicted to throw away the “drug” of checking off the never ending to-do list and she implores us to “Stop! Right now. Remake your life from the inside out.”
By mid-book, Niequist begins to reveal how she gained great strength during this internal makeover from her Christian faith. (You don’t need to be a Christian to benefit from her valuable and timeless lessons in this book.) Irrespective of your beliefs, I was certainly inspired by her concrete examples of how she breathed a new life into her spiritual world. How she used her faith to allow herself to let go, knowing that she’s not alone and that ultimately there is unending support. There are some good nuggets there!

For me, what made this book so relatable, are the examples of real people who lost the most important
things that life has to offer because of the habit of overusing one word, “yes.” I was heartbroken reading the story of the dedicated pastor who put his congregation before his wife and family, eventually winding up alone and divorced. And the high-powered businessman who hired a photographer to shoot a video of him reading his father speech to his daughter for her wedding. You see, he wasn’t going to be at his daughter’s wedding. (You can guess why!) Let me be blunt, many of us can relate, but seeing these real stories in black-and-white helped me realize the devastation that messed-up priorities can yield. Ouch.
The author leaves us with these beautiful words. Read them twice. “This is what I want to tell you (and leave you with). It’s better here. Here in the place of love. This journey has brought out meaningful transformation in every single part of my life. My prayer life, my marriage, my family life, my friendships.
In the space that used to be filled with a worrying ball of anxiety, now there is a new patience, a new
settledness and a new desire to be exactly where I am right now…I have the energy to look well into and dedicate myself to the things that matter…I now have the security to truly rest.”
Join me, my friends, as I vow to be a little more present and a lot less perfect.

Reviewed by Heather Goodwin, MA, HHP, MBSR-P
Director of Holistic Therapy Services

'This is most definitely one of my top five favorite books ever! It is written by Rhonda Byrne, law of attraction guru, and is the second book in her powerful series. The first, The Secret, started as a feature- length film, and later was made into a book.
Without revealing what “the magic” is, (given away on page 5!) I promise this will be a life transforming read. The Magic takes the reader on a 28-day journey, leaving them with undoubtedly a forever changed mindset toward joy. The 28 magical practices are broken down into small sections, making it a very fast
read each morning. Each day you will add one of these magical exercises to your repertoire. I remember watching some pretty amazing occurrences show up in my life as I practiced these tools. I still use them to this day!
I first read this book in 2015 during a family trip, where I returned to my mother who had unexpectedly passed away. I don’t think it was coincidence that this book found me right at that time. It helped me move through the grief with a new comforting framework around her passing. For that, I will always be grateful.
I promise, when you grab your copy, you will feel like a magician who found their magic wand!'

Reviewed by: Heather Goodwin, MA, HHP
Heights of Health Holistic Therapist

"At Heights of Health, you likely hear us talk about the importance of mitochondrial health all the time.  In fact, the first thing we do with clients is focus on improving mitochondrial (aka metabolic) health to improve energy production at a cellular level so that our clients can start producing the energy needed to detox and heal.  In her new book, Dr Casey Means, MD, goes deep into the connection between poor metabolic health and chronic illness.  Her primary focus is on the American diet and how it is destroying our health.  Her concepts are not new to the holistic field, but she does a great job connecting the dots and calling out the corrupt Big Pharma and Big Ag complexes and how they are creating a sicker and sicker population.  Until we take ownership of our own health and demand a healthier food supply, the spiral will continue.  I strongly encourage listening to her podcast  https://www.caseymeans.com/learn/podcast-in-the-arena and reading her book."    - Tracy Southwick, Master MBSR-P, ND (Trad.), HHP, CNHP, CNA, AMP, Owner & Founder of Heights of Health

Raise your hand if you are annoyed by the constant dinging of your phone, having to stop at a red light or the seemingly endless dirty dishes piling up in your sink?! What if we could heed the wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, world renowned spiritual leader, and transform these frustrations into gifts? Hanh urges us to use the sounds from the phone as a reminder to become present in our body, and to put a smile on our face. What if we were able to tune in to the present moment by enjoying the warm water flowing over our hands as we wash the dishes? For me, I love this practice because it’s a lazy way to meditate! What if I can take this meditative practice into all of the normal and mundane tasks of my day? Wow, the neuroplasticity occurring in my nervous system will pay off in spades! I’ve read this book several times and each time I glean a new nugget of wisdom. I had the privilege of hearing Hanh speak when I was living in Boulder and he took us on a walking meditation. I use his simple, yet profound principles of bringing mindfulness to every day occurrences (when I can remember!) such as simply saying “step, step, step” when I am walking or going on a run—Talk about bringing you into the present moment and into your body! Maybe, peace CAN be every step. - Heather Goodwin, MA, HHP, Director of Holistic Therapy Services at Heights of Health

I read this book on a recommendation from a friend and it was so enlightening!  I always knew that cholesterol was not a great predictor of heart disease and that statins have very serious side effects (like depleting coenzyme Q10, a nutrient essential to heart health and mitochondrial energy production), but this book lays out all of the science (and calls out the pseudo-science) around what really leads to heart disease.  The authors do deep dives into what tests to really pay attention to and how to reduce your risk for heart disease via diet, supplements and lifestyle.  For anyone concerned about cholesterol levels and heart disease, I highly recommend reading this book (I listened to the audio-book first, but bought the hard copy to have as a reference).  - Tracy Southwick, Master MBSR-P, ND (Trad.), HHP, CNHP, CNA, AMP, Owner & Founder of Heights of Health