The Beautiful Connection Between Fitness and Happiness

There are many good reasons to get (reasonably) fit. And perhaps the most underappreciated of these is the mental health benefits of exercise.

With the right strategy, fitness can be just as good for your mind as it is for your body. Sadly, the typical gym routine doesn’t help much in this respect (it might even make matters worse). Instead, we should smartly combine proven happiness boosters with exercise.

This week’s article dove into the scientific literature on happiness and emerged with the following happy fitness guidelines:

1. Exercise outside, preferably in nature, exposed to sunlight, and with good friends/family.
2. Be on the lookout for opportunities to engage in random acts of kindness.
3. Keep adjusting the challenge level to give yourself a good chance of entering a flow state.
4. Pounce enthusiastically on any new motivation to improve your diet in parallel with your fitness.
5. If walking/cycling is safe and practical, simultaneously boost your financial security and fitness by ditching the car.

I wish you a happy and active weekend!

Schalk