The Power of Exercise and Journaling


This Was written 8 years ago, so take it easy. I left all the sentence structure and punctuation errors for dramatic effect.

The few questions I found myself asking about this topic are how does one achieve this daily?

What does one do to achieve this regularly?

How to incorporate this in everything I do?

How to put this in my own words to the best of my ability?

How to find it anywhere at any time doing anything?

I had just gotten back from rehab, which I went to help me stop bad habits that were definitely not encouraging my happiness. I was cleaning up the mess created in my house by everyone else while I was away. I was scrubbin’ my cats’ litter box, but there wasn’t that much to take care of as she usually just shits outside during the summer. This got me thinking… where does all this kitty waste go? I have never seen a turd outside (not even one). If she were a dog, I would see it all over my lawn as well as urine stains. Next, I arrived at the questions; how is she so easily entertained within my house walls, and how is she so easily satisfied within the radius of my yard?

It’s the simple cat things that she finds every day to keep her happy. Seeing this somehow brings me a small satisfaction. It would be like watching your young child (if you are a parent) use their imagination and mesmerization for their new world to put a smile on their face. Wow, tools this simple can create happiness. So why does adulthood somehow rid the majority of our imagination?

I let my life get over-run with materialistic things that I thought were necessary, to acquire throughout my life, to keep me happy. Now that I look back, the only thing these items created was more problems. I thought materials would promote a happier life, so I was my own enemy for thinking this way. Sure, it made me happy having brand new trucks and top-of-the-line electronics, but to maintain these things, you need to toss a lot of dollar bills (dolla’ dolla’ bills y’all). After one year of technology development, these money laundering materials are not exactly up to par anymore. Basically, my hard work had been converted to depreciating, out-dated items. The way I see it, it is an endless greedy cycle that can overshadow happiness.

To reiterate… I took a job I disliked so that I could afford nice things… I realized these nice things do not create happiness and can even make my life more financially stressful…So now I have two cents, here they are:

So why not have a job that doubles as a passion? … Then it no longer becomes work because my passions are things I enjoy working towards… This could create a delighted life.

My perfect way of life would be making a living in a way I can enjoy. As human beings, we are generally achieving a standard where we are not happy with many parts of our lives. Why don’t we change in the name of happiness?…

The best things in life are free, but you can keep them for the birds and bees. Now give me money.” The Beatles. 

Supported by The Beatle’s famous response, the best possible answer that I can come up with is that humans are creatures of habit. Once we fall into certain comfort zones, it’s almost impossible to break out of them. In reality, breaking out of comfort zones should be simple. Participate in and encourage positive changes that can further your enjoyment of life. Doesn’t matter your age, relationship status, career, sex, religion, or place of origin. Your own decisions can create happiness, but don’t let the thought of money jade you.

The beauty of the world we share is that there are no boundaries to what one can experience. I can say and do anything I want to as long as I’m not hurting myself or others while doing it.
One thing I believe we should incorporate in our everyday living is spirituality.

Now that term is widely used, and there is no direct definition for it. I’m not saying this from a religious standpoint. I’m saying this in the way I understand it, believing in a power greater than ourselves. Some people find it through religion, meditation, reading, relaxing, and the list continues.

I believe that we, as humans, can not accomplish great things entirely on our own. Finding those greater influences in our lives who help further us is key. I have researched a lot on happiness and read a lot of books on how successful people achieve happiness.

All the material seems to have similar ideas on how to live the happiest life:

1) Setting goals for ourselves.

We should all set short-term and long-term goals. If possible, even daily goals.

Most of these goals should be realistic and achievable.

These goals should be followed by a mapped-out plan of certain steps needed to achieve these goals.

Take action, follow the plan and do something to work towards these goals.

Visualize the result for achieving these goals. Not only visualize but repeatedly imagine the process required to achieve these goals. Feel the satisfaction you will get for the accomplishment of these goals.

It is essential to take action to feel a positive attraction, then act upon it.

Don’t focus on failure. If failure does occur, then at least you won’t be wondering what could have been. Move on and try a new approach.

A good website to help with goal setting is

2) Eating healthy

Find a proper balance of healthy foods.

As the old saying goes, “you are what you eat.” If we eat good, we reflect that. If we eat shit, we reflect that.

Drink more water because it is what makes up 70% of our bodies.

According to H.H. Mitchell, Journal of biological chemistry 158, the brain and heart are 73% water, and the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, muscles and kidneys are 79%, and even the bones are a watery 31%, making sense to put more of that in us.

3) Exercise

Try to incorporate at least 20 minutes of exercise in your life every day.

4) Me time or quiet time

Find the time that you can spend by yourself doing things you like to do.

Our lives are spent mostly with others.

Taking the time to figure out ourselves is more than necessary.

Asking ourselves things such as:
Am I heading in the right direction?
Am I happy with all aspects of my life?
If not, what should I do to change it?

5) Scheduling

We should schedule a daily plan.

Have something to fill our time with throughout the day.

If things don’t work out according to the schedule, learn and don’t dwell on it.

Without a plan or a sense of direction, life can become very chaotic.

6) Sleep

Sleep is essential. An adult should be getting at least seven hours a night.

8 hrs of sleep a night for those 18 and under.

Sleep helps repair the body as a whole.

Lets our mind process the day’s information.

7) Gratitude

We have to learn to be grateful for the things we already have and have accomplished.

Without gratitude, it’s hard keeping an open mind and being accepting.

We also can’t take things too personally.

Don’t let the interference of others destroy accomplishing your goals.

8) Limit the mind-altering substances we put into our bodies.

Examples of these things are drugs, alcohol, caffeine, etc.

We can’t make clear conscious decisions if we are continuously altering our minds with these substances.

It puts our brains into a chemical imbalance.

Most illegal drugs can kill us, but don’t forget that alcohol can too.

Alcohol lowers one’s IQ, and the things put into alcohol are chemically human-made.

Alcohol created a certain mask for me that I put up when involved in many social events. A mask that I felt was required for me to come out of my comfort zone.

9) Don’t smoke cigarettes or do any other tobacco products.

These are pretty self-explanatory.

The number of harmful chemicals put into cigarettes is over 4,000.

I think finding a good balance in these points will help anyone come into true happiness.

A guy named Tom Shadyac came out with a documentary called “I Am,” and it’s a bit about his life journey. He directed a lot of Jim Carrey’s earlier films and a lot of other movies. One day, he concluded he wasn’t happy while he was standing in one of his mansions in Malibu. He now lives in a small trailer in L.A. somewhere. It’s a great story of one man who thought he had everything, but everything does not always include happiness. Check it out for yourselves on Netflix.

Being happy is something we have to figure out for ourselves. Ourselves are influenced drastically by others. Choose your influences wisely.

When issues come up in our lives, deal with them right away and don’t avoid them. Then move on.

The hardest one for me to grasp is the whole feeling idea. Let our feelings help point us in the right direction. Our hearts send signals to the brain first, not the brain to the heart.

So anyway, where does all my cat shit go? She hides her shit so well and keeps on being a cat.
Don’t forget to smile and laugh often. 🙂

“I am not here to build a business; I am not here to build a corporation; I am not here to build Schools; I am not here to build churches—I am no Mother Theresa.

What I will do, is—lead a legacy.”

~Dean Mathers




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