How Sleep Affects Your Happiness

As we evolve from being a young adult to adult, sleep starts to become less and less of a factor. And sometimes with that, lack of happiness. Not to say that you’re completely a sad old fart. You may tend to think about your past a bit more and remember some good times you had. But without a goal, constantly thinking of the past isn’t always a good thing. You forget to be present while being in the present. Just know that there are always going to be younger crowds than you and you may end up having to play the role model. Even if you didn’t choose to be, people could look up to you for inspiration.

I used to be that guy that always looked back at my past and wondered what went wrong with me, or why I’m not where I’d like to be in life. And also kept thinking about future plans for myself and think of steps to take to get to where it was, I want to be. But a good friend (and my hairstylist) once told me to live in the moment. And it hit me. There were so many times I was living in the moment and felt great about myself, but I quickly move on from it.

Now, just more recently, I’ve been trying to live my life in the moment and later on would recap my day. I would look back at the positives and if there were any negatives, I would quickly get through that and move on from it. Figure out what was not so great and try to learn from it to be better next time. And anything good, I like to soak that in just a bit longer because it felt great! It’s like I had my own highlight reel for myself like how you would see in pretty much every sport out there.

And to highlight this post, if you’re not feeling as great as you want to be, maybe you just need more sleep! At least we can start there.

Rediscovering Excitement: Embracing Field Trips as an Adult

It’s almost here. The day you’ve been waiting for. You got your Lunchables packed in your little brown bag, and that’s when you know you have a good lunch. That is if you’re like me and typically eat lunch at school. Your permission slip has been signed by your parents (weeks in advanced I’m sure) and it’s a day off from your routine schedule. It’s possible you might be too excited to sleep, and you’re just looking forward to hanging out with your friends. When that day finally comes, you’re soaking it all in. Whatever trip you’re on to learn, to educate, but most importantly, to enjoy yourself with the wonders of what life offers you. It’s a spectacle. Having a life changing event that you would be more than happy to share with everyone the next time you’re in class.

Now, fast forward many years later to adulthood. What’s changed? Do you still feel that same excitement you had when you were a kid?

When it comes to the working class, we typically follow a routine schedule. Wake up, get your day started, head to work, eat, do an activity, sleep, and repeat. Pretty identical when we were going to school. If we’re not looking forward to the weekend, then it’s the next time we get to go on vacation. Even if it’s just a little weekend getaway. It’s something out of the ordinary. Something that hasn’t personally happen to me in a long time. But that’s probably because my schedule with work is constantly changing. Especially since I’m juggling multiple jobs at the same time. That and the fact that I can’t really afford to go on a field trip myself. Nowadays, I spend most of my extra money on groceries or going out to eat. I really don’t know how my parents were able to raise us kids and have the money they have. I’m right between the lines of surviving and living.

Responsibilities really do get the best of us. I mean once you’re an adult you have so much you have to prioritize with life itself. No wonder field trips happen only so often. But sometimes that’s what you have to do. Take care of priorities and think about something you would like to do. Something that could be educational, yes, even as adults. You’re never too old to continue learning. Take the science museum that I went to as a kid. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the details but I know I enjoyed myself and had a blast. Especially trying to spend as much time as I could with our teacher assistant/chaperone. She was definitely a fox! So anyway, the museum of science. From what I was told, so much has changed since I was last there that if I were to go now, I wouldn’t remember a thing. But there’s a lot that could be learned from just taking the time to experience this event. If not this maybe there’s something else you’ve been putting off for sometime and never have the funds for. But you have to start. Set a goal for yourself. Start budgeting towards this field trip, or vacation, whatever you want to call it.

I was having a conversation with a customer about how they just recently came back from vacation to Pictured Rocks. A destination I would have loved… still would love to go and trying out all sorts of things they had going on in the area. One thing we talked about was how you can have a much different perspective and unique experience kayaking through the rocks. And later on in the day, I seen someone wearing a shirt from the place I wanted to visit. Coincidence or a sign, perhaps?

All I have to do is a little research. Check out everything going on in the area depending on when I’d like to go or at least when I would be able to afford it. What’s it cost to visit for “x” amount of days and start prioritizing towards that goal. For instance, with summer coming to an end, if my goal is to visit next spring or early summer, I can breakdown what I’m able to put away on a weekly basis. Sounds simple enough. Now just have to execute!

What’s your field trip goal? Don’t forget your Lunchables! (pepperoni pizza for me!)