Acknowledgments
No sweat represents an integration of the experiences, research, and training I’ve had over the last twenty-one years, so there are many people I want to thank. I have learned from and been inspired by many scholars, clients, business professionals, family members, and friends. Everyone, combined, has played a role in forming the gestalt of my thinking and helping me take a simple insight from research and translate it into a real-life solution that helps people feel better and energizes them to sustain happier and healthier lives. It has been a true labor of love.
First and foremost, I am grateful to Naomi Lucks for the invaluable editorial insights she brought to No Sweat. I am also thankful to Robert Nirkind and AMACOM Books for believing in my comprehensive system and the need to get it out into the world. Another special thank you goes to my agent, Lauren Galit, who guided and advised me throughout the entire book process.
The integration of ideas in No Sweat is uniquely mine, but these ideas stand on the shoulders of the research and work of many insightful scholars. The following thinkers greatly influenced my foundational ideas about how to develop systems for sustainable behavior change that simultaneously fuel people to live happier, more fulfilling lives: Gordon Allport, Richard Bagozzi, Kent Berridge, Charles Carver and Michael Scheier, Robert Cialdini, Richard Davidson, Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, Carol Dweck, Jacquelynne Eccles, Panteleimon Ekkekakis, Seymour Epstein, Barbara Fredrickson, Paulo Freire, Winifred Gebhardt, Peter Gollwitzer, Karla Henderson, Wilhelm Hofmann and Reinout Wiers, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Paul Karoly, George Kelly, Julius Kuhl, Richard Lazarus, Howard Leventhal, Brian Little, Carol Ryff, and Ken Sheldon.
I am also grateful to those who have mentored and supported me. First and foremost, I want to thank the person without whose mentorship and encouragement I would not have discovered my professional passion and purpose: Vic Katch. Vic, thanks for being a great teacher, igniting my love of research, and giving me my wings (in addition to guiding me right to my husband and copilot, Jeff). Others who have been guides and/or supports at key points on my path include Doris Aaron, Jesse Bernstein, Carol Boyd, Chris Bidlack and Jeannette Gutierrez, Kathy Caprino, Noreen Clark, Julie Dodge, Jacquelynne Eccles, Nancy Janz, Jayme Johnson, Jennifer Martin, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Chris Peterson, Caroline Richardson, Randy Roth, Joan Hallem Schafer, and Peter Ubel.
I am thankful to the University of Michigan for training me to be a critical thinker, cultivating my curiosity, and quenching my thirst for actionable knowledge. I am also especially grateful to all of my clients for trusting me to be their guide for the last two decades and teaching me so much along the way.
A tremendous thank you goes to my dear friends and family for always being there and tolerating many intense conversations about the key principles of my work. I am forever grateful to my husband, Jeff Horowitz, and our son, Eli, who encourage me to follow my dream even though it takes me away sometimes. I love you both more than words can say. Finally, I want to thank my mom and dad, Ilene and Bob Segar, for encouraging me to forge my own path and supporting me every step of the way.