Exercise Can Give You a Happy Face Every Time You Do It

November Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Happiness”

Fitness equipment becomes an amusement park.

If you are scoffing at my title and six-word story, I empathize with where you’re coming from. When I joined my gym, I would’ve described it as a torture chamber, not an amusement park. Twelve years later, though, my perceptions and feelings have changed. How did this happen? I’m ready to share that story and my belief that the same can happen to you — if it hasn’t already.

For the first nine years of membership, I went to the gym about twice a week, a commitment to maintaining my health. Unlike more devoted gym-goers, I took a two-year hiatus when the pandemic struck, not returning until last year. Since then, the gym started offering an array of in-person classes that neatly fit my schedule.

I initially struggled in the classes because they demanded strength and stamina I didn’t possess. Mercifully, the instructors, other students, and upbeat music create a supportive and spirited atmosphere. I gradually improved and have been partaking in 50-minute cardio and weightlifting classes four times a week for the past four months.

Motivation to use the gym’s weight machines was tough until I learned not to push myself too hard. Like topping off a mug until the coffee nears the brim but never overflows, I learned to increase the difficulty of my workouts a smidgen at a time. This approach prevents exercise from becoming unpleasant or painful, so I’m willing to come back and do it again next time.

There was a moment last week when I realized my feelings about workouts had changed. An overwhelming feeling of happiness hit me like a barbell as I walked across the parking lot. It was as though I’d crossed a magical threshold and entered another world. Until then, I felt happy after exercising because it was over. Now, I just feel happy!

If you have daydreamed about exercising regularly but haven’t found the time or dread the thought of getting started, I hope to provide inspiration. Any type of physical movement that gets your heart beating faster for a sustained time period will do —like walking, swimming, running, or yoga.

I’ve learned firsthand that if you exercise regularly and stick with it long enough, you gain a foundation of strength and endurance. That is when exercising starts to be fun. When you pass over that magical threshold, you enter the amusement park!

Thanks to Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, for her top-notch “Happiness” November prompt in the SWPSC publication. Vidya, Mary Chang Story Writer, and Sandi Parsons make this a delightful home for photos and storytelling.