Happiness in Motion

Focus: Movement

There is one important habit that we will continue to use throughout this course: Movement.  

Movement is essential to living a happy life. I use the word movement instead of exercise because I do not want you to limit your thinking. 

If you’re like most people, your relationship with exercise may have left you feeling stressed, disappointed, and frustrated. 

One of the goals of this course is that you discover movements that you enjoy. You will be asked to do a minimum of 15 minutes of movement daily.  

Just 15 minutes of exercise a day can boost life expectancy by three years and cut death risk by 14%.

You may have the desire to do more, but the focus is on creating the habit. Habits are best formed by making the new behavior as easy as possible. SO easy that you can not, NOT do it…so don’t go signing up for any marathons (yet)!!

Week 1- New Movement and Journaling.

Challenge 1: Try New Movement – 15 minutes minimum. 

Please select a different movement daily. Make sure that is easy, accessible and something you have a genuine interest in doing. Do not limit yourself to mainstream forms of movement – GET CREATIVE!!

Here are some suggestions:

Dance party in your house/office 
Jumprope
Stair repeats
Squats while doing household choirs
Hula hoop
Water walking
Movement with a friend

Challenge 2: Journal.

Pay attention to how you are feeling during your movement. Capture your thoughts by answering the journaling prompts provided on the daily success checklist.

Putting it all together – This week’s Happiness Challenges:

1. Print out your “Daily Success List” and place it in a visible place. 
2. Movement – Daily. 
3. Celebrate your movement – Daily.
4. Journal – Daily.

We are creating new happiness HABITS.  Please follow these exact steps as you complete your daily goals:

1. Reminder – How will you remember to do your movement and challenges? Post-it note, alarm on your phone, how can you create accountability for this?
2. Routine – This is your new behavior.  Be specific. Keep it as simple and convenient as possible. It is best to try and plan it for the same time each day if possible. 
3. Reward – Celebrate!! You absolutely MUST celebrate yourself each time you complete your new behavior. This tells your brain that what you are doing is good and should be repeated. 

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

Please resist the temptation to judge your movement. Simply take note of the thought and let it pass right through you. If you fall behind, be kind to yourself. If you need help, reach out.  

We are in this together!