Last month, I tried for the millionth time to give up coffee. And for the millionth time, I failed miserably. But it was in failing that I realized something – my caffeine intake wasn’t the real issue. It was the symptom of a “tack” I was sitting on.

Wednesday, September 14: Day 1 of my coffee cleanse. My alarm went off at 5:50am, and immediately, the thought of the day stretching out before me felt so daunting that I rolled over and hit snooze. Several times. For almost 45 minutes.

The rest of the day didn’t go much better. I got my kids off to school late. When I finally got to the office, my concentration was so off, I wasted a whole hour trying to sort through emailsI felt irritable and exhausted.

So I asked myself, what in my life is happening, that I need so much caffeine to get me through the day? Why do I rely on it so heavily?

The rest of that week, I dragged myself through my routine, succumbing to the corner café only...