Whether we are coaches or clients, “Happy” is sometimes an elusive concept. So how do we take responsibility for exercising our happy in order to be physically energized?

Most of the time when we think of physical exercise, we think of it as getting our body in shape through movement. We usually get happy and have a sense of well-being after exercising. Some other considerations of the physical dimension of exercising “our happy” relates to the senses of smell, sound, sight, touch and taste. How do you exercise these physical senses to get to your happy?

Sense of Smell. How do you exercise your sense of smell? What smells do you surround yourself with? Which smells give you pleasure and make you happy? Which ones give you pleasant memories? How content are you to just smell whatever is present or do you intentionally search for and put in place those smells that make you happy? As you cook or eat, how do you take time to savor the smells? As you bath, how do you take in the fragrance of the soap or bath gel? How do you exercise your sense of smell in the aliveness of the outdoors?

Sense of Hearing. How do you exercise your sense of hearing? What do you listen to? How well do you listen? How do you exercise your gift of listening to others on a deeper level? How do you intentionally tap into the sounds of nature, or intentionally listen to lovely sounds instead of those squawking, annoying sounds of everyday life? What playlists of beautiful music or sounds do you have that make you happy? Do you like wind chimes or tinkling streams? How do you exercise an appreciation for what you hear?

Sense of Sight. How do you exercise your sense of sight? What do you look at, and what do you see? What lovely colors and palettes resonate with you? How do you make yourself aware of the colors surrounding you? How does art and pretty pictures exercise your happy? How do you use light to modify your environment? On grey days, I use electric candles in my windows to offer a brightness to mitigate the grey day. One client uses electronic candles as opposed to regular candles as she is afraid of forgetting to blow out the candles. How do you really see the people you are looking at? How do you exercise your appreciation for all that you see?

Sense of Taste. How do you exercise your sense of taste? What do you taste? Do you as Rachael Ray says, “exercise your palette” or do you eat the same old things? How willing are you to venture into cultural and exotic tastes and textures? Do you go to the same fast food places and restaurants or do you exercise your tastes by incorporating new adventures once in a while? Do you eat to be eating until you don’t taste what you are eating, or do you exercise your taste by pausing to taste? How do you exercise your happy by tasting life?

Sense of Touch. Finally, how do you exercise your sense of touch? What fabrics do you wrap yourself in? Are you comfortable in nubby soft fabrics? What favorite places in your environment do you have where you feel relaxed and comfortable instead of tense and anxious? Do you let others touch you through massage or hugs? How do you exercise your sense of touching to get your happy?

The first step is to be aware of the impact these senses have on our happy. The next step is to take responsibility for incorporating the positive elements of the senses into our everyday life. Finally, fostering gratitude for the gifts of each of these senses is another way to exercise your happy!

By Diana Williams, PCC