Sporting For Happiness

  Being happy is the desire of the vast majority of people. Happiness is a composite of life satisfaction. Happiness is a strong emotion that can be seen as a judgement of satisfaction with one's life or as an overweight of positive feelings in one's emotional state. Our passion for sport is a constant demand for movement and activity. It is a powerful engine that constantly drives us to promote our phsical and mental health. The key is to make a conscious decision to make an integral part of our lives. It starts with prioritising time for physical activity, be it in the form of morning run, a weekend bike or a relaxing yoga session before bed. But there are also plenty of opportunities directly in everyday life. Taking the stairs instead of the lift, an evening walk in the fresh air or a short workout during your lunch break. Exercise with family or friends. Doing activities together can be motivating and provide social interaction at the same time.

   If you are overwhelmed or out of control during a competition, try deep breathing. Tune into your breathing. Chances are, your breath is probably rapid and shallow if you feel overwhelmed tense or out of control. Then, exhale and breathe out all of the air in your lungs. Slowly breathe deeply into your stomach, pause for a second or two, and then exhale all of the air out again. Keep breathing slowly and deeply and exhaling all your air until you feel a bit calmer and more in control.