Hello Again and welcome to the 6th blog in my series on increasing happiness. If you want to start from the beginning, you can read the original article.
Today I wanted to discuss how exercise can help you increase your happiness. When many people think of exercise they definitely don’t think about happiness. As many enlightened teachers have said, change the way you look at things to change your life. What if you saw exercise as fun, a way to clear your mind and get your body moving in a pleasant way? What if you say exercise as a way to reduce your stress and increase your happiness? Most of the time exercise is seen as a chore that has to be done, which takes the fun out of the activity. Once you change the way you look at exercise you can then choose activities that you enjoy. For instance, do you like walking outside, biking, yoga, pilates, Zumba, running? What activity do you actually enjoy, maybe there is more than one. The key is too choose something you enjoy or want to try and get excited about the activity. Then make an appointment on your calendar for the activity, and treat it as an important appointment. It is also a great opportunity to try something that you have always wanted to. I have been wanting to try Zumba for awhile so I am setting the intention to find a class and put it on my calendar by the end of the week.
So you may be wondering why I asking you to choose exercise as a way to increase your happiness. Exercise can increase your endorphins, which improves your sense of wels-being. It also is a change of scene and perspective, when you step away from your daily tasks then you are able to come back with a fresh outlook and are more productive. For instance, have you ever been looking for something and just can remember where you left the item? Have there been times when you stop looking and say you will go back to it later and the item shows up? If you have had that experience you know what exercise can do for you. This same experience has happened for me when I am trying to solve a problem, often the overanalyzing that happens is not helpful. Stepping away and changing your perspective.
Don’t take my word for it, here is some evidence… A recent study in Penn State found that people are more productive and happier if they exercise on a regular basis. Another article in Psychology Today states that exercise can help prevent depression.
If you want some help increasing your happines and living your purposeful life. Contact me for a complimentary happiness session.
