Building Happy. What it Means to Me.

There’s no question I’m a fitness nut. More recently I realized again that I am a lifelong learner. I got recertified as a personal trainer after my career changed over the years and I didn’t need it anymore, but knowledge never goes to waste. And here I am training myself, bodybuilding every day, and feeling very confident about my ability to grow my physical being.

But, with MS, there are emotions that come into play when stress comes in the picture. Anxiety, unhappiness, depression for many people, luckily not myself, at least at this point in my life but I have in the past felt feelings of huge sadness, never at the point to cause harm to myself. Anyway, my point is that I never really focused on my brain and building my mind. Until now.

Are used to think that learning had to come from a book or being physically present from some great mind that had something to share, and there are a lot of great minds out there who are easily available on YouTube, and now my favorite format, audiobook.

This morning when I pulled in the lot, it was the earliest that I pulled in. 4:15 AM. The gym on Monday opens at 5 AM, so is there really any need for me to be here so early? I have a handicapped space right in the front where I park. It’s never a question for me if I will get a spot. Especially at the time I come, handicapped spot or not

So I sit here in my spot and I look at the parking lot with empty spaces, except for two big rigs parked near the entrance. I see them park there often when they get too tired to drive on the road. I know the drivers are in there sleeping, and I feel very lucky that I was able to sleep in my own bed under my own roof last night.

So I sit here with my phone, Google docs and voice to text open, pouring these words out for you. Even if my hands did work right, and I did have the dexterity to put pen to paper. The words come out way quicker this way anyway. As long as Siri cleaned her ears out because she really does have some funny things she hears.

So not just bodybuilding is important to me, but happy building. I could easily say mind building, but in the end, it makes me happy to build my mind. So although I am building my mind, I know the end result is that I am happy. It doesn’t really matter how Big my intelligence gets. How happy am I?

The books that I have been reading, or listening to, lately have been on the topic of hacking the mind and happiness. Yesterday I was served a new book that I had never seen before, the Happiness project, By Gretchen Wilson.

I only got through A little over a chapter, before 15 minutes ran up. That’s the time I have on my cardio to warm up, and then my earbuds turned to heavy rock or metal. It gets me through my grind at the gym, and makes me happy.  I don’t have to think as much on a repetitive motion cardio piece of equipment, and can just focus on my breathing, even closing my eyes for a minute, and listening to the words. When I am struggling to finish up a set and the weight is getting challenging, I really am not listening to words.

When I listen to my music, I listen to the words, but those words are motivating me. They’re telling me how I’m in the eye of the storm, I’m a survivor, they help me pump through and get the job done. A completely different earful.

One kind of content fuels my body build end the other kind of Contant fuels my mind build.  They both make me happy, just one is a little less struggle to become happy. They both have the same end result of happiness and satisfaction.

So I have been listening with great interest to this happiness project, and it makes reference to Benjamin Franklin‘s 13 virtues. I had heard of this in my previous quest for knowledge, but when it came back now, it really hit me in the face. I had to look up what is 13 virtues were and it’s like one thing leads into another with learning. There’s always something more. I crave this constant learning. I think I’m going to make this one of my virtues. I’m going to make my own list, I just wanted to put it down here today as a placeholder. I’m always getting easily distracted. I need more of that too.

So the gym is opening in about 12 minutes. I think I’m going to fill my mind and listen to my Book. After all there’s not much time on cardio, and considering I’m there for two hours lifting and doing cardio, going to have to create some kind of balance to fill my mind more. At least I got a good start!

When I pulled up to the gym, it was a clear night. The sky was a little gray, but now it’s raining pretty hard. When I come out of the car with my crutches and walk to the door, I feel pretty happy that I made it. The rain does not bother me. It makes me happy.