Week three!

For the third week on my journey to happiness, I am going to commit to doing some sort of physical activity for at least four days of the week. I read an article by The New York Times that concluded even just a slight form of exercise daily increases happiness, whether it be through a release in neural chemicals in the brain or social interactions that come from exercise classes or seeing friends at the gym. I think many of us have experienced that after-workout high when you feel not only a physical boost in energy or improved physique, but it also brings a sense of accomplishment knowing you did something good for your body and mind that day! I definitely know that I feel this mood boost after a good workout, but I think where many people including myself lose traction is when they let the dreadful feeling of getting to the gym become another task on today’s to-do list and the post-workout mood boost isn’t enough to outweigh the effort or dread of exercising some may have. Although I do usually have a pretty good habit of exercising at least a couple times a week, my negative mindset leading up to the exercise makes the day unenjoyable until I finally talk myself into checking it off the list for the day. Therefore, it is valid to ask myself, is dreading a workout all day and even decreasing my mood because of it worth that after-workout mood boost that may or may not last? I think that my goal this week is to workout at least 4 days, yes, but perhaps more importantly I want to try to change my mindset before my workouts and see it as a gift to my body and healthy activity for both my mind and body, my mental and physical health. I also want to try to change up my usual mundane gym workouts by possibly trying new workout classes or going for a trail run by the lake. We are fortunate enough to live in a city with so many ways to be active and get outdoors, and I want to try to take better advantage of those things this week as I continue on my journey to happiness!