blackgirlgrown 2010 Happiness Project – January: Energy

Several months ago I stumbled upon Gretchen Rubin, a new author and guest blogger on Huffington Post.  Her focus: to be happy and help others find happiness.  Before you avert your eyes and click elsewhere with the “how can someone teach me to be happy” groan, give us a minute.

Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project, more fulfilling than the usual New Year’s resolutions that seem overwhelming and unattainable, focuses on monthly, thematic, and manageable resolutions.  Its focus is on making small changes in life management as the primary resolution! 

Instead of big, larger-than-life, resolutions that are difficult to keep, the Happiness Project focuses on incorporating resolutions of differing themes each month and provides help on how to add those changes into your routine. 

Each month, blackgirlgrown will feature Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project theme of the month with tips on how to achieve them.

January’s theme is ENERGY!

What energy means for me: Each morning, I get exhausted thinking about the day and week ahead.  There are more tasks that need to be done and not enough time or energy to do it.  So I end up cutting out the very things that I know give me more energy: sleep and exercise. 

For good or bad, my body will go on strike if I don’t get enough sleep.  I get irritable, become short with people, and function at a diminished capacity.  Not good, especially in this job market.

Exercise…I have no doubt that I have more energy when I work out.  My mind gets in the way of what my body knows by cycling through questions like “what will I do with my hair, “and “how early will I have to wake up,” when all it really takes is Nike’s admonition to “Just Do It.”

So for January, I will focus on getting more energy with better sleep and getting in some physical activity. 

What will you do to increase your energy level in January? 

Resources for January 2010/Energy:

• Sixteen Tips for A Good Night’s Sleep: There’s a lot of advice out there about getting good sleep — it’s VERY important. We quickly adjust to being sleep-deprived, and don’t notice that we aren’t functioning at a normal level, but lack of sleep really affects us. If you’re feeling blue or listless, try going to sleep thirty minutes earlier for a week. It can really help.
• 11 Tips for Sticking to a Schedule of Regular Exercise: Exercise is a KEY to happiness. Research shows that people who exercise are healthier, more energetic, think more clearly, sleep better, and have delayed onset of dementia. They get relief from anxiety and mild depression, comparable to medication and therapy. They perform better at work.  Also, although it’s tempting to flop down on the couch when you’re feeling exhausted, exercise is actually a great way to boost energy levels. Feeling tired is a reason to exercise, not a reason to skip exercise.
• Eight Tips for Feeling More Energetic: Feeling energetic is a key to feeling happy. Studies show that when you feel energetic, you feel much better about yourself. On the other hand, when you feel exhausted, tasks that would ordinarily make you happy—like putting up holiday decorations—make you feel overwhelmed and blue.

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