Happiness is a marathon – not a sprint

How good would it be if you could click your fingers when ever you felt sad or overwhelmed and instead feelings of happiness rose through your body. Unfortunately we can’t avoid that initial emotion from surfacing, but we can do work behind the scenes to ensure the emotion doesn’t define us. It may even interest you to know that neurologists have found the physiological lifespan of an emotion is only 90seconds. Therefore if we can get better at taking the time to acknowledge our feelings and then use strategies to move from that state we will start to make real shifts in the way we feel.

Which is where the idea that happiness is a marathon, not a sprint was born and why I believe we need to consider this same analogy when working on our own energy and happiness. 

Here me out…

The Marathon runners approach to happiness

Running a marathon isn’t easy.

Nor is it always easy to create positive energy.

People must train for long periods of time. It takes dedication and consistency.

It is also going to take time and dedication to more consistently live a life that aligns with the one you want to have.

There is a big time commitment – and it’s not all running. It’s coming up with the time to run regularly. And eating enough healthy calories to sustain your body.

Each and every day we should devote time to our mental state, gratitude journals, fuelling our bodies with the right food, exercising, sleeping, it is the combined activities that allow us to optimise our energy consistently.

Only after months of hard training can you actually run the marathon.

The art of creating positive energy may also take you months of tweaking before you get to a point where you consistently feel good and have the strategies in place to help you when you hit a road block

Sometimes injuries delay things unexpectedly.

Like COVID or losing a loved one

During the marathon, you might feel on top of things as you run past others, but then there will be someone who passes you. There are moments a runner may feel like there’s no way to go on because you have nothing left to give. It takes grit and resilience to keep going.

Like you might be really good at starting your day with good intent… then you get a crappy phone call, or your product launch doesn’t go as planned. You may wonder if it is all worth it and how will I get out of this funk… just like when we run a marathon… grit and resilience will keep us going.

After finishing, you will feel euphoric, like you can conquer anything…

We can have this same euphoric feeling when we have experienced a day of good vibes, when we know we have put our best selves forward each and every time we were asked and when we were able to successfully manage the negative moments…

And you need to take time to rest so your body can recover.

In life we have good days and bad days, just like when we run a marathon… some runs are easier than others.

So when working on our own positive energy it is imperative that we pace ourselves. Take on knowledge when we have the time and energy to do so, rest and recover in between and reach out to energy givers when we need!

So go easy on yourself, we all have good days and bad days but hopefully the idea has resonated with you and next time you are hit by a curve ball, or you simply wake feeling flat,. Take solace that this is just that point in the marathon where you are being challenged, but the months of training and working on yourself will help you get through the phase and closer towards the end state you have in mind…

That is it from me today, i hope you all have a calm and restful day, one that brings you joy. One free from anxiety and as Positivity and Happiness are Contagious… Start your own Happiness ripple today!