BOOK REVIEW
Energy, Peace, Purpose

$6.99

Exercise. Quit smoking. Read more. It is the time of year when many Americans submit themselves to an annual evaluation and make resolutions to improve their lives. Enter the self-help books. While Energy, Peace, Purpose is a book in this genre, it is different says its author G. Ken Goodrick, Ph.D., an associate professor of medicine at the Behavioral Medicine Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine.

Energy, Peace, Purpose not only offers practical ways to live more fully, it does so in a step-by-step format. A former NASA engineer, Dr. Goodrick provides flow charts, tables and worksheets throughout the book to allow readers the opportunity to write down goals and record their progress. The suggestions in this book, unlike some self-improvement books, are based on behavioral research. Dr. Goodrick imparts what he has learned from interviewing approximately 1,500 people in depth over the course of his career as a psychologist.

According to Dr. Goodrick, the keys to optimal living lie in maximizing your energy, reducing stress and finding a path to happiness.

"I thought to myself, if I'm going to tell people how to live life, they should really have energy first," says Dr. Goodrick. "You won't achieve much if you don't have much energy."

To increase your energy level, Dr. Goodrick recommends adequate sleep (9 hours), exercise and a low-fat diet.

The next step is stress management. In a chapter entitled "Do You Have Peace?", Dr. Goodrick addresses the importance of physical and mental relaxation and provides tips on how to go about it. The second part of stress management is organization and Dr. Goodrick follows the relaxation chapter with concrete suggestions for attaining organization in both your personal and work lives.

"Now that you've achieved energy and relaxation, what should you do with it?" challenges Dr. Goodrick.

The last third of the book focuses on finding purpose in life. Again, rather than using esoteric language, Dr. Goodrick provides concrete information that can be applied to everyday living.

"People think, `Oh, you can never try to get happy.' Happiness just comes spontaneously. This is not true. If you know the associations of happiness in terms of behavior and thought patterns, you can strive to do those and you will be happier," he says.

The book addresses three components of happiness:

1. Developing meaningful interpersonal relationships;
2. Making work meaningful; and
3. Focusing away from materialism.

In these sections, Dr. Goodrick stresses the need for people to interact with one another and develop support groups rather than surrounding themselves with "stuff" that may provide transient contentment but not ultimate fulfillment.

Dr. Goodrick's future plans include establishing an energy clinic to teach people how to increase their energy levels and then potentially incorporate these teachings into a curriculum for junior high level schools. Health care professionals interested in learning more about the energy clinic can call 713-798-3538.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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