If you know me you probably also know that I mostly run around quite happy and energetic. I’m pretty sure there is no magic formula that everyone can apply to be more energetic or more happy. I however still believe that there are a set of quite simple rules that are important for staying energetic and that often can make you happier as well.

I have two rough guidelines to keep me energetic and happy that I believe could also help anyone who wants to change something:

1. Stay active
2. There are no shortcuts

Let’s dive in a bit to give them a bit more context.

Stay active

This one might sound like a YouTube Shorts and maybe there is some truth to it, but I believe there are a few things to it that are not mentioned very often which I find super important.

Your body needs to learn to be active
Many of us work in an office or similar where we do not really move that much. People try to do some sport to compensate which is good in theory, but there is a catch. A few rather short sessions a week do not have the necessary effect. I for example love to go running and a few years back I stopped running in the morning, because I was tired during the day. Especially going for longer distances was problematic. I usually went for short runs when I had to work and on the weekends I went for a longer run – often paired with a short nap to re-energize. I thought that’s how it simply is supposed to be.
During Corona I started riding my bike more and I wanted to avoid public transport so I visited my parents around 160km away with the bike. The first time took me around 12 hours and that was quite exhausting. I was certain that I wouldn’t bike back when I arrived. But somehow after two days at my parents I thought about going back by bike again. Since then I increased my time on the bike dramatically – at times I spend 60 hours in a week on my bike. You might think that I would be super exhausted afterwards. But it is usually quite the opposite. After I do lots of long trips I’m really energetic in the following days and weeks. Lately I started running longer distances like 20km on the weekend and instead of calming down afterwards at home I always force myself to do something like go for a walk, do a short trip on my bike etc.. And somehow I’m way less exhausted. I’m now even going for 10km runs in the morning during the week quite regularly without any fatigue afterwards.

Long term activity doesn’t need to be hard
I love to run rather fast, I swim “okay”-fast. But I for example usually do not ride my bike super fast and I love to take a relaxed walk. I believe it is nice to have something that challenges your body, but most of the movement can be low effort. Riding a bike is something you usually can do for one or two hours without much problems. It is okay if it doesn’t feel exhausting but keeps you active. I even observed that I can sleep so much better when I’m active for a longer time during the day without really feeling exhausted during the day.

The ten hour rule
I set myself a rough goal every week of 10hours of activities. Swimming, running, but also riding my bike or even walking for at least 30minutes is all fine. I want to reach 10 hours of activity every week. It is totally fine to exceed this, but I clearly notice that I lose something if I do not try to stay consistent. This might sound like a lot of time, but it also serves a special other purpose.

Mental health
Disclaimer: I’m really no expert here and if you suffer from mental health problems this will not be any replacement for a professional.
That being said: I’m pretty sure that it is really healthy to have some time to let your mind wander. When I do sports it sometimes even feels like trance to me. If you feel you always think so much about everything, ride your bike for an extended period of time. After some time you thought all the things you wanted to think about and your mind clears up. I was able to calm down so much, lose anxiety, nervousness or stress by giving myself this time off. You don’t need to be alone for that it will simply happen automatically. Your body does this for you. Maybe don’t watch Tik-Tok videos while you do that and I for example don’t even listen to music. Enjoy the world around you, enjoy maybe a bit being bored, that’s totally fine. But do it for an extended period of time, not simply a 5 minute walk after lunch.

If you train your body to stay active by not giving in and simply falling back into the couch after doing some activity, making it a habit to move enough in a week and give your mind the ability to wander. With that I believe many could get energy back.

There are no shortcuts

In our modern world there are so many things that are supposed to help you with the one thing you want or need. There are pills that make you more relaxed, there are drugs that make you enjoy an evening more and there are things that will make you “feel good” in no time. Simply turn on Youtube or TikTok and you can enjoy a nice video for example.

I learned however that these quick solutions are often very ineffective in making your more energetic. Sure you can become a great dancer with a few drinks or make you laugh by watching a funny clip, but those are all shortcuts. I’m not advocating for never doing these, but they are not a solution – at least not long term. If you want to change something you need to do something that feels hard, that requires you to focus, to work on something and develop a certain skill.

I for example play the piano for quite some time and I do not only play the five tunes I once learned. I regularly challenge myself. Playing properly requires a lot of work, dedication and consistency, but if you manage to achieve a hard goal it also gives you so much more than a small 5 minute task will ever give you. For me playing the piano is something that challenges me, but it also gives me joy learning and playing pieces I really like. This expiereince is so much more than simply listening to music. It is probably similar to dancing to music as you connect way better you immerse more with the music when you play it or dance to it. I believe the struggle is an important part in getting a lasting positive energy out of it.

You don’t need to play an instrument, there are probably thousand other things you could do like paint, write, pottery… the list goes on.

Being active and achieving something that you struggle with are in my opinion the best two ways to acquire a more lasting source of positive energy.