"Happiness is not being pained in body or troubled in mind." - Thomas Jefferson

So I've taken a few weeks off from my happiness project.  I was supposed to start my new month of Health on March 27th, but that didn't exactly go according to plan...

I've been a bit of a basket-case lately.  I've been going and doing and worrying and stressing, and it's taken a toll on my mental and physical health.  So I decided to take two weeks off from worrying about the daily stresses of bed times and workouts and budgeting.  I would keep my resolutions as I thought of them, but not pressure myself, and not create my checklist for those two weeks.  Between running out of town, hosting people at my place, worrying about my dig, worrying about grad school, worrying about financial aid, and working overtime, I was having difficulty keeping up a daily routine and it was stressing me out more than making me efficient, organized, or happy.

I had planned to spend one month, in the middle of the year, where I wouldn't add any new resolutions, but just keep working on the ones I had at that moment.  Well, I decided to cut that month in half, and use two weeks of it right now.

And the instant I decided to slow down and give myself a break, I got sick.  This always happens to me.  When I stop going, going, going, I get sick.  I would always get a small cold at the end of midterms or after finals.  After the last two months of constantly activity, the instant I slowed down I got sick.

It seemed kind of silly and a bit ironic to start my month of Health while I was sick.  So I cut it short by one week to give myself time to rest and recover.  I've started the month of Health today, but I'm only going to give it three weeks instead of four, thanks to my illness.  I've slowly been getting over this mutant cold/allergy attack and today was the first day I felt like I could workout again.  So I got up this morning and had an hour-long workout.  I ran two miles, did 100 reps each with my legs and arms, and did 100 crunches.  My whole body feels like jelly, like I just got a really good massage.  I haven't felt this relaxed in a month and it's amazing!

I think taking the three week break was important for my physical and mental health.  I needed to slow down, get my life in order, stop stressing so much, and get my health (and ability to breathe!) back.  This recovery time was essential for me to get back to a lifestyle that fosters happiness.

So today starts health, which I will write about more tomorrow.  Sadly I have to go work overtime now.  Only 11 more weeks left at my job, yay!