by Bonnie Kretchik

Created on: July 02, 2007

Everyone wants to be happy, right? Everyone wants to feel good and contented and in a state of complete peace, right? Of course they do. We all do. Some look for happiness in their favorite TV shows or video games. Some look for happiness in their mom's macaroni and cheese. Others may search for it while shopping online or in department stores. Still, some turn to drugs and alcohol for an induced happiness. Unfortunately, not only do people tend not to find what they are looking for in these scenarios in terms of happiness, but none of these methods coincide with any health benefits either.

However, some turn to sports for happiness. No, I do not mean watching others play sports on TV or playing the video game version of football and baseball. I mean actually engaging in the physical act of sport itself: throwing, catching, running, jumping, swimming, cycling, whatever! The physical activity involved in sports has the ability to not only create complete and utter happiness, but also lead to a healthy lifestyle.

I am a runner, a long-distance runner. To some that may seem like the complete opposite of peace and happiness. But other runners can attest that there exists the true phenomenon of the runner's high. There is nothing more exhilarating than completing a three-hour run in which you are bombarded with endorphins every twenty minutes. Your legs ache, your feet burn and your mouth tastes like sandpaper, but man, what a rush! Or, finally seeing that finish line looming after running for what seems like days. You're tired, you can barely breath and all you want is to collapse on the side of the roadand then you cross the linesheer bliss.

Other athletes achieve similar moments of exhilaration. Scoring the winning touchdown, hitting the game winning homerun, swimming that final lap when your arms are aching and you don't believe you can go another stroke. Achieving goals you didn't believe you could ever achieve is what draws people to sports. The personal successes are what make people come back time after time after time. Seeing physical fitness improve and watching your body transform itself into something you could only have hoped for brings on a better self-image and self-esteem. And, in most cases, this healthier, more active lifestyle leads to better eating practices as well. As one begins to feel better about their body, they want to feed it better too. All of a sudden turning down the hotdog in favor of a fruit smoothie isn't such a challenge.

Sports and an active lifestyle are so vital to one's health and happiness. Living an active lifestyle is proven to help ward off diseases and conditions. Obesity, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, etc. can all be avoided with just plain old exercise. There is no need for pills and medications when sports have the ability to create not only better health, but happiness too.

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