What's Your Candy Store?

We spend a lot of time talking about what you should fuel your body with to be healthy, and different ways to move your body so you can stay on the top of your game, but we don't usually talk about what surroundings have to do with the happiness equation.Where you spend most of your time has a profound effect on the way you feel day in and day out. If you're constantly in a flourescent-lit, windowless office without plants or colors or anything on the walls, chances are it's going to zap your energy and maybe even make you feel depressed like you're stuck in a cave... because basically, you are.

Not all of us have the luxury of choosing where we spend most of our time due to work or school restrictions, so what I hope to help you find today is your candy store.

*blank face*Er... I can explain... Let's start with a story...When I first walked into the gym where I'm currently a member, my eyes went wide and my jaw hit the floor.

There was every machine you could think of.

There was space for everything. Studios for classes, mat rooms for barefoot boxing, and lots n' lots of floor space for HIIT workouts.

Big bright window-walls let the beautiful San Deeahhhgo light in so that interior lighting was minimal (which I theorize helps us exercisers want to stay and work out longer).

Basically, I'm a kid in a candy store every time I step into the gym. It's my happy place. :)Everyone deserves to have that one place in their lives where they feel like a kid in a candy store. It can help you relax, get centered and inspire your life even beyond when you leave!I hope that by the end of this post today, you will have A) identified your candy store, and B) found a little more time to spend there so that you can be just a little happier every day.So let's get to it by finding out where your candy store is.

What's Your Candy Store?

Finding your candy store might be easier for some of us than for others. Mine is obvious to me because it:

• makes me excited when I get there.
• makes me eager to return.
• allows me to relax and feel centered while I'm there.
• is conducive to my happiness, creativity, inspiration and motivation.

As you brainstorm about places that make you feel like this, think: gym, yoga studio, library, record store, cafe, etc; NOT: Disneyland, Mount Everest or Paris for those of us who don't actually live there... though I did kind of "live" at the former for 3 years... :0We want your candy store to be affordable to step into frequently, and accessible on at least a weekly basis.If you have a place in mind that makes you feel like I do about my gym and that's within the scope of everyday life, awesome! You're done with this first half of this post. You can move on to the next step.If you didn't come up with a place right away, no sweat; ask yourself the questions below. Your answer may not incorporate all of them, but covering at least one or two of the bases is essential.

Which place in your life makes you feel any or all of the following?

• calm
• connected
• alive
• energized
• excited
• masterful
• creative
• Zen-like
• Content
• Warm
• Loved
• Accepted

This may be a room in your house, a park close-by or even in your car. Pick the answer (or a few) that allow you to check off most of these qualities.Get it? Got it? Good! Let's move on...

Making Time to Go Candy Shopping

The important part of today's post is that we MAKE time for you to be in this place at least once per week (the more often, the better).If your answer to the above step ended up being somewhere that you already frequent, great! You already make time for candy-shopping. You can go ahead and enjoy your candy store right now because you're all done!If you wish you could spend more time in your happy place, however, get ready to stop wishing. We're going to make time for it right now.

How often do you pass by or go to your candy store?

• Daily
  • Awesome! Leave a little extra time to step in and browse around, sit for a while or just BE in the space for at least 15 minutes. If it's on your commute, leave a little early. If it's on your lunch break, eat in your candy store if you're allowed. If it's when you get home, set aside "quiet time" with your family in which you get full YOU time without interruption in Candy Land.
• Weekly
  • Still not bad! Carve at least a half hour into your week to spend in this coffee shop to soak up enough goodness to last the whole week. If you want more time, look for excuses to head this way during the other days of the week. Is there a weekend day you could head over this way? Is there a day when you can get off work a little early to go candy shopping?
• Monthly or Less Frequently
  • While I love that you're at least getting out to your candy shop sometimes, monthly or less just won't cut it for the amount of happiness we want in your life. Here are some tips to carve out more time for candy:
    • Is there a day every week or even every other week that you can devote to spending at least 30 minutes in your candy store? Is it somewhere you can take your kids, or a mini-road trip you can carve into your schedule?
    • Can you bring work with you to do IN your candy store? If it's a park, family member's house or library, this works really well.
    • If the issue is financial, can you cut back on something else that doesn't bring you as much joy? Here's where I cut back in my budget to become a member of my gym: dining out, groceries (bye bye frequent Whole Foods trips, hello Trader Joe's!), random online membership I didn't use. Look through your budget and ask yourself: what's worth more to me, my candy store, or this?

Making time for your happiness is crucial if you hope to create it for yourself. 'Cause let's face it: many of us Strongies just weren't gifted with everlasting joy and exuberance- we have to work for it. We need that place that allows us to get centered and focus back on what matters, and out of the minutia of everyday life.The point is not to escape your life and all its stressors, but to return with purpose. That fire within you is too easily smothered by worries and stress and all the things that we'll forget about in a month, but that cause unnecessary pain in the present. You don't need to wait for vacations or those days that you end up being left alone.

Your candy store can help you rekindle your fire. Carve out time to be in this space, don't just hope that it comes.

Your life is what you make it, no matter what you're dealt. So why not make it a little sweeter?Still have questions about your particular candy store? Leave them in the comments and I'll get back to you as soon as I can with a personalized tip!Stay strong,Amy