Happiness plays a big role in one's health and fitness

ALTHOUGH lots of people are now into fitness and healthy lifestyles, many are not yet ready to start a physical wellness programme because they lack the motivation, inspiration and positive feelings to initiate change.

This type of challenge has empowered experts and health professionals to develop a holistic approach to wellness. Health advocates like the IDEA Health and Fitness community, the world's leading organisation in health and fitness, are now putting more efforts to incorporate campaigns for positive well-being into health care and fitness programs worldwide. One such is improving ones level of happiness for positive physical health.

Positive emotions

As professionals, we should not focus solely on a clients body-fat percentage, or how many repetitions of push-ups he or she can do. Rather, we should also focus on clients positive emotions, not only as a result of exercise, but also based on how they manage their thoughts and actions.

Not all fitness and medical experts have a solid foundation in psychology and spiritual wellness, but our constant encounter with clients or patients, based on how we present ourselves as role models, what we say to them, and what we do even in our private lives, can have a direct and positive influence in their thoughts and feelings. In our own little way, we contribute to peoples overall well-being.

According to Peter Davis, creator of IDEA's Exercise Your Happiness programme, to meaningfully change our clients lives, we should consider our selves not only as fitness professionals but happiness professionals, too.

What is happiness?

The June 2011 issue of IDEA Fitness Journal presented various definitions of happiness by positive psychology experts:

Martin Seligman, known as the father of positive psychology, presents in his book, "Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being", a broader model of the well-being theory, called Perma. This model encompasses five measurable elements that constitute human flourishing: positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning and accomplishment.

A study published in the Review of General Psychology by Sonja Lyubomirsky, one of the world's leading researchers on happiness, showed 40 per cent of our happiness is within our power to change through the ways we think and act. This shows that we have the power to decide and act on our happiness. The other 50 per cent can be credited to a genetic set point or baseline.

Meanwhile, research published in Psychological Bulletin by psychology professor and senior scientist Ed Diener suggests that only about 10 per cent of our happiness is associated with life circumstances such as money, beauty, marriage and health. This implies that many transformations we create in our lives can make us only 10 per cent happier, but we can still do something about it.

Survival

According to Diener, there is a growing body of evidence that happiness is beneficial for one's survival of illness and longevity. In his 2011 review, he concluded that high subjective well-being may add 4-10 years of life compared with low subjective well-being.

Life strategies

Our current emotional state definitely affects how we can strive to improve ourselves (through physical activities and healthy eating for improved physical health), and how we can give more love and service to the people around us (inspire others to improve their lifestyle).

Define your happiness and work on it. What makes you really happy? Think and feel it. If being with and exercising with your special someone makes you smile, then make an effort to communicate your concerns with your partner.

Focus on the positives rather than your flaws, then move on. Stop wasting your time comparing yourself to others. Focus instead on your good traits and even your best physical features and always remember that character is more important than appearance.

Count your blessings and opportunities. As soon as you wake up, thank God for giving you another opportunity to be happy once again. Think of what you have in your life right now and the opportunities you have in the next 24 hours.

This will help you get started on things that you find difficult to pursue, like another day of loving your body by taking care of your health, improving your fitness level and embracing your new lifestyle.

Nourish relationships. Be glad each day for having the most loving and supportive people around you. Learn from your shortcomings and always be ready to get up and start again. The journey to improved health and fitness requires a sustained effort, everyday.Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN