Finding Happiness Part-1

Akshata Harish

Ever since I was young, I always had a fascination with body control be it gymnastics, martial arts or running, I always admired who could do that. After reaching the age 9, I joined karate being shotokan karate and practised it for a very long time till college and also was into shotput again till college. During that time I had a strict regime in following diets and exercise. After college, started looking for jobs and joined the corporate world

Due to lack of physical activities after my adolescence made me lethargic and unproductive, however I still didn't know the reason why I am being like a part of my happiness is taken away. I remember once one of my neighbouring aunty asked me join her for a small 10k marathon with her, after considering i tagged along with her. After leaving the fitness journey and being out of shape for a couple of years didn't help me much in finishing the marathon, however it made me happy. And I finally found the reason why I was being lethargic and unproductive and unhappy.

Ikigai is a Japanese word which can be described as a sense of purpose in life, being motivated. To keep yourself engaged with the beauty of living and having to do mundane tasks with a zeal is something we need to work on. The simple answer is to keep your body moving and never rest. Always do the small physical activities like walking, jogging and house chores and even studies show that people who keep their body active are happier than people who don’t.