Last weekend I was able to attend Alt Summit, which was awesome and you can read about my experience here. During the conference I was thrilled when one of the key-note speakers, Stefan Sagmeister started talking about his project examining happiness called The Happy Film and an art installation called The Happy Show.
One of things that he said that struck me the most was that he found that he got more satisfaction from 15 minutes of daily exercise he did from meditation. Now, nothing against meditation. I know it is working wonders for my girl Erin, but I’ve never really been able to get it to work for me. So it was really nice to get the some back up for what I already know.
Exercise gives you endorphins and endorphins make you happy.
But he also gave me a new angle to think about it, in his exhibit, The Happy Show, there is a stationary bike that when you ride powers a sign that lights up and says “Actually doing things I set out to do, increases my overall level of satisfaction.”
Now this very wise bit of info is something that I had heard before in The Happiness Project, you know… tackle a nagging task. But it also gave me new insight, sometimes, I over commit. I aim high, and then when I don’t get there, I am super bummed and it really starts to make me feel like poop.
I feel like I might have over-commited this month with the fitness theme. I did the best I could, which consisted of about 30 minutes of Just Dance a day, about 4 days a week. That’s not the part I’m disappointed with, the part I’m disappointed wish is how much pre-packaged food I ate, not cool.
The good thing is that I am very familiar with heathy eating and I can pick it back up any time I go to the grocery store. The lesson, is that when it comes to making yourself happy, set realistic goals.
What say you?
Image via here.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I totally agree! Making realistic goals is so much better than aiming too high and being upset that you can’t be perfect.
Ashley recently posted..Admiration: Packaging
Couldn’t agree more!
Suzanne recently posted..A Year in Books
You’re so right! We need to set specific attainable goals, and then as we achieve them, we can push ourselves to the next level!
Alyssa recently posted..Almost Certified
I love your little Elle Woods quote.
Over committing is horrible for me and does make me unhappy. Today my boss told me that I have to tell peopke no.
Carli recently posted..Purex Crystals for Baby #Giveaway
On preferring 15 minutes of exercise to 15 minutes of meditation; I totally get it. There are different ways to meditate, but the central theme seems to be ridding yourself of daily drama. A good workout will force you to focus on what’s at hand and make you forget about the things that are bothering you. That in addition to endorphins = recipe for success.
I totally get what you’re saying about over-committing and then getting upset about it. Sometimes it seems to even be self-fulfilling. Perhaps you can look at it this way: You got more active this month, and that’s an accomplished goal in itself. Best of luck for keeping it all up!
Leslie recently posted..{Weigh In Wednesday} Week 4
Very true, exercise could almost be considered a moving meditation.