#HappinessFirst

Every day we are constantly searching for happiness. But what is it really? Happiness means FELICITA’ [fe-li-ci-tà] s.f. inv.

1 1 Condition of joy, joy, satisfaction. Search, find the f. ; happy event, which makes you happy Cercare, trovare la f.; evento felice, cosa che rende felici

This is what the dictionary provides on happiness: it is an emotional condition, before a material one. Material things give us a false and momentary feeling of happiness. But real happiness is due to positive emotions, given by particular moments. One of my "positive" moments comes from running.

There was a time in my life when I had almost lost hope. Feelings of sadness haunted me. I don't think it's shameful to say this, but to help me I followed prescription drug therapies that made me "overcome" this sense of sadness. Luckily, stubbornness has always prevailed in me, so I didn’t give up in spite of everything. I started to looking for something that could help me and wasn't "synthetic." I found it all in running. I began out of curiosity, as I’d never followed running as a sport, except perhaps as part of a warm-up before different training sessions. With a few months, I came to finish my first 10 km. I still remember how I felt: invincible! I liked it so much that I gradually increased the kilometers and started "my journeys." Marathons. I ran six, each one more beautiful than the other. For each marathon, I have a memory that is still vivid today. Then, unfortunately, I was injured and had a slow recovery. In the forced recovery period I thought so much about my life and how running made me feel; at the end of every training or race I always felt free and energized, I didn’t think about being tired. I realized what running has always been for me: my happy event. The etymology of the word comes from the Latin word felicitasderivation of felix-icisThe root “fe-" means spiritual abundance The message I would like to share with you through ArcheoRunning is just that: first well-being, and the beauty of the places that you come across and then competitiveness. Giving yourself goals is important, they are the stimulus to improve, but they must not generate malaise if a certain goal is not achieved. Move forward and let’s run!

Running:  it’s my happiness and this is the reason for #HappinessFirst

Credit: Stefania Colella