Exercise can be one of the keys to happiness
I was reminded this week of a famous quote that is repeated almost as often as it is incorrectly attributed. It has been credited variously to the Scottish writer Alexander Chalmers, the German Philosopher Immanuel Kant, the American writer Rita Mae Brown and even to the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.
The quote references the “keys for happiness” and is as follows (paraphrased): The keys to happiness are straightforward: Someone to love, something to look forward to and something to do.
I love it for it’s simplicity. All of the intricacies of daily life are boiled down to these three, easy to understand, keys.
For the last several weeks, we’ve been locked down at home with little to do other than manage the essentials of daily life. For those not directly touched by the disease, the biggest challenge has been the disruption of daily routines. Essentially, a critical piece of the happiness puzzle has been lost for many of us. Personally, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to continue working from home. However, many others have suddenly been left with long days of looking for “something” to do.
My education in health promotion, personal training and medical exercise has included “motivation” and the psychology of change. So much so that I would say that the most important quality that a fitness trainer needs is the ability to influence others. The way that we do this comes in many forms; not the least being that we simply provide our clients with a road map and daily tasks. In other words, we give them something to do. This is the beauty of regular physical exercise. It can fulfil at least one of the keys to happiness and possibly even two (… depending on how you feel about your daily workout).
If you were not a daily exerciser before the pandemic started, I would suggest that now might be the time to consider getting going; for your physical health, for your mental well-being and for your happiness. There are few things as dispiriting as hanging around the house day after day with nothing to do. At the very least, adopting an exercise routine can give you some purpose and provide you with the somewhat elusive “something to do.”
It doesn’t have to be intricate or intense. Despite what many of the free online offerings will tell you, it also does not have to “get you shredded in 30 days.” What a daily or weekly exercise routine should be is consistent. Aside from providing the greatest physical benefits, a consistent practice of exercise gives structure to our days and can create routine for our weeks. It is the reason why so many retirees get into fitness for the first time in their adult lives.
If you want to start an exercise routine, I would suggest three things that can help you stick to it:
1. — Schedule exercise sessions as unbreakable appointments. When I go out biking on Sundays, my family knows that unless the house is on fire or someone is at the ER, I am unreachable.
Place appointments on a calendar or in a day planner. Some people go one step further and schedule appointments with a personal trainer that costs money if they skip a session.
2. — Keep a record of what you did. This could mean notes in a pad or steps in a Fit Bit.
3. — At the end of each week, review and make adjustments for the sessions that you have scheduled for the coming week.
The effect that having “something to do” can have on a person’s overall level of happiness can be profound. If their “something” involves increasing physical fitness… all the better.