The results are organized by the question categories used to collect and analyze data and describe the higher-order themes within each. The first section reports findings related to what participants reported made them feel happy. The second section reflects participants’ responses to what makes them feel successful, and the third section contains findings related to participants' PA beliefs, feelings, definitions, and experiences. Although no differences emerged between low active and high active groups regarding happiness and success there were some differences regarding PA beliefs, feelings, and experiences that are noted.
Happiness
Four themes emerged characterizing women’s daily sources of happiness: (1) Connecting with others, (2) Being of service to others, (3) Participating in leisure activities and hobbies, and 4) Feeling relaxed and free from daily pressures.
Connecting with others
The connecting with others theme related to relationships and spending time with family, friends, and even pets. Discussions referred to being with people physically, (e.g., “doing activities with family”), the importance of the relationship itself (e.g., “I am a newlywed. Just being married is a total[ly] different experience for me, it's making me happy”), and the need to feel close to and connected with others (e.g., “Connecting is very important. If I don't see my roommates or my boyfriend, or talk to my mom all day, I feel like something is missing”). Only one participant mentioned that connecting online with others through social media was a source of happiness.
Being of service
Participants reported deriving daily happiness through the experience of helping and serving others in different aspects of their lives. Examples included providing for their families financially or contributing to their children’s success (e.g., “What makes me happy on a daily basis is providing for my family. I love seeing the smile on their faces [when] I cook”), as well as volunteer work, and paid work.
Participating in leisure activities and hobbies
Participants mentioned feeling happy when participating in a variety of leisure activities and hobbies (e.g., shopping, cooking, reading). Some talked about these activities as a conduit for relaxation while others talked about them as energizing (e.g., listening to music). In addition, being physically active was frequently mentioned as an enjoyable leisure activity, including walking, playing volleyball, or working out among high and low active participants.
Feeling relaxed and free from pressures
When they felt relaxed and free from pressures participants said they felt happy. They emphasized their need to relax and recover from their daily demands and busy lives:
“Getting to just relax. Not worry about time, schedules or anything, because we are constantly on a schedule.”
Relaxation included specific activities such as taking naps, meditating, and simply having time off. For example, one participant said “unwinding at the end of the day” makes her happy while another one said “long weekends make me happy, with no work.” Others noted alone time as a way to relax: “Probably after all my kids have gone to school, and I come home and I just have silence for a couple of hours...”
Getting relief from pressures that are associated with daily roles and responsibilities was a key aspect of relaxing. Participants mentioned a perfect day would consist of waking up late, not worrying about a schedule, and not having to do their typical daily responsibilities, such as laundry and cooking.
In sum, happiness appears to be generally derived from experiences related to spending time in activities that women autonomously choose to do, especially those that deliver relaxation and a respite from daily demands, as well as connecting with others and being of service.
Success
Three themes arose concerning contributors to success: (1) Contributing to the success and happiness of others, (2) Accomplishing goals, and (3) Professional achievement. Across these themes, feelings of success generally came from helping others accomplish their goals, accomplishing their own goals, and from seeing the impact of their efforts on others.
Contributing to the success and happiness of others
Respondents discussed contributing to the improvement of others’ lives, including serving different people, often their children:
“..that my kids are doing well. One's already graduated from the university, and he is engaged to be married. That they are on a good path makes me feel successful.”
Accomplishing goals
Many participants discussed feeling successful through accomplishing goals, including longer-term goals like having a family or increased education as well as short-term goals related to their daily roles:
“…what makes me feel successful would be, daily goals, like making a list and following through. Even, if it is simple as getting some fruit at the store.”
Professional achievement
In addition, their own professional achievement was frequently mentioned as leading to feelings of success. Some participants felt successful because others trust and depend on them, their work was recognized by others, or they are achieving goals such as getting good grades in school. Having sufficient financial resources to meet basic needs and feel secure was also mentioned:
“One of the things that makes me feel successful is when all of my needs are met and all of my daughter's needs are met. Nobody's going hungry, nobody's walking around naked, and we all got shoes on.”
While in general, experiences from connecting with others and engaging in preferred or self-selected activities contributed to daily feelings of happiness, success seemed to derive from the outcomes of their actions. In other words, participants felt successful when they felt competent and effective in their daily roles and responsibilities, especially making a difference in the lives of others. Notably, although participants identified success as coming from accomplishing broader goals, accomplishing mundane daily goals, like getting what they needed at the grocery store, also led to feeling successful.
Beliefs and feelings about PA
Across the discussions related to PA specifically, five primary themes emerged: (1) Narrow definitions of PA, (2) Feeling pressured, (3) Negative affective recall and forecasting, (4) Positive experiences, and (5) PA is a lower priority than family and work. Beliefs and feelings about PA are where the clearest and most consistent differences emerged between low and high active participants.
Narrow definitions of PA
When asked “what counts” as PA, low active participants tended to define PA in ways using a specific and narrow set of standards that traditional PA recommendations have used to educate people about PA, such as signs that they were exerting themselves in high-intensity exercise (e.g., increased heart rate and/or sweating, or feeling “like you’re burning something”) and for the “right” amount of time (e.g., 30 min). Low active participants also described feeling pressured by these criteria and not able to achieve them:
“You have to do this at this time, and you have to commit to these hours. You have to do this activity. You have to be so good. I feel like it's a lot of pressure for me, with exercise, to perform and do well and commit to that schedule. I can't commit.”
Women in the low active groups noted that the location, cost, and the hassles of parking at a gym were other barriers to PA, suggesting the belief that PA needs to occur at specific, formal exercise places like gyms. One low active participant said that walking her dog was a barrier to being active, which implied that she did not believe dog-walking counted as valid PA.
High active women were much less likely to make comments that were categorized in this theme.
Feeling pressured
In general, low active participants, as well as some participants in one of the two active groups, expressed that they were not exercising as much as they should, want to, or used to. There was a clear sense that they experienced internal pressures related to the idea of being physically active. These participants commonly expressed that they should or need to engage in PA. Statements reflecting this pressure were often linked to a desire to obtain appearance, weight, or health benefits. For example:
“I really need to discipline myself and lose the weight again. It's been fluctuating, going up and down, up and down.”
Losing weight was more frequently discussed as a way to improve their appearance than benefit their health. Both low and high active participants often compared themselves to smaller women or to the size they used to be, indicating discrepancies between their current vs. ideal body weight:
“Before my kids I was size six, size eight. I used to do a lot of sports. Since we moved to this country, life changed a little bit for us….I say that's one of the things I want to work on, on my weight.”
However, striving to lose weight through PA seemed to be more stressful than motivating, as it was accompanied by self-judgment, ambivalence and negativity toward being physically active:
“It makes me really resentful when I'm like, "OK, this is you. No one has put weight bags on your body. This is actually your extra weight…when I do exercise now, I have such a bad attitude.”
Negative affective recall and forecasting
Many low active participants acknowledged some degree of anticipated negative affect about being physically active. Negative affect was anticipated across all phases of PA: (1) before (e.g., just thinking about exercising was stressful), (2) during (e.g., feeling self-conscious, cranky, bored, hot, or sweaty), and (3) following PA (e.g., feeling soreness, pain, or fatigue). This negativity was apparent through the language used, such as “dreading” exercise, feeling “resentful,” and “feeling like you’re going to die by the end of [an exercise class].” In particular, participants in the low active groups talked about experiencing physical discomfort and/or fatigue when they are active, often because of excess weight:
“I'm not sure because of the age, or because I'm gaining weight
.
I feel tired just to think about [going] to the gym… that is not fun.”
Some low active participants discussed that they didn’t want to be physically active because it didn’t deliver the relaxation benefits they desired:
“When I am already tired, you want to go home and relax, and exercise has nothing to do with relaxation.”
Positive experiences
Although women expressed negative affective associations with PA—particularly those in the low active groups—both low and high active participants also noted positive experiences derived from PA, including factors that motivated and facilitated PA. Being active with others was a key ingredient for positive experiences, and was described as creating a sense of community, making it more fun, and providing mutual support and accountability. One high active participant noted that being active with her family is a happiness-generating activity for everyone:
“Incorporating it in a fun way really helped me out. [My kids] rode their bikes and I ran behind them. That helps big time because it feels like a family. It's good for me. It's good for them. That has actually got me doing it pretty much every day…I feel happier. I think my kids are happier… as much as I am.”
In addition, contextual factors, such as being active outside on a nice day and/or listening to music, were noted as enhancing the enjoyment of PA. Some participants in both groups discussed PA as leading to more general positive outcomes (e.g., having energy, feeling motivated, and having sense of accomplishment). Others noted specific immediately experienced affective rewards from being active, such as helping to “release stress,” and providing “inner peace” and “a jolt of energy.”
Interestingly, participants in the low and high active groups tended to speak of the positive experiential benefits differently. The low active participants talked about the potential energizing effects of PA as hypothetical in nature in that they did not seem sufficiently motivated to seek them out (“I know I would be healthier and probably happier and less tired if I exercised. Honestly, right now in my life, I’d rather take a nap.”). In contrast, participants in the high active groups described feelings of success that came from having already completed a workout (“You feel accomplished… You’re breathing a little bit better. It seems like you’re standing a little taller.”)
PA is a lower priority than family and work
Across all focus groups, most reported that their highest priorities were providing for their family, spending time with family, work or school, and meeting financial obligations, the very factors they had previously noted as contributing to their happiness and success:
“If he [spouse/partner] needs something, if they [children] need something, if my clients need something, all those things come first....Those things are higher priority.”
As could be expected, the issue of where PA was prioritized differed between low and high active focus groups. Participants in low active groups frequently noted that if they were physically active it would cut into their family time. A few even noted feeling guilty or selfish about taking time away from their families to engage in PA or “me time”:
“It would be selfish or perceived as selfish if I took the time and [did] not sit down with my family for the dinner time. If I went and did something else and took time for my exercise class or my routine. It's picking your family over time for you.”
Interestingly, among some low active participants, PA as a means to lose weight or improve health was discussed as a low priority, while for others, it was reported as a top priority. However, those who reported PA for weight loss as a high priority tended to speak about PA using future and conditional language (e.g., “I would”) or what they did in the past rather than what they were currently doing. In fact, one low active participant who was a cancer survivor, noted that although she engaged in regular PA right after her diagnosis, she now (five years later) felt guilty about not taking care of herself or prioritizing PA as much as she used to. Comments about the health benefits from being active suggested a gap between knowing about the health benefits from PA and actually being motivated by them:
“…[exercising is] a high priority, just because I know my family history and my genes and all that stuff. It's there telling me that I should do something,
but it's not a high enough priority for me to actually....[trails off].”
Some participants in high active focus groups reported that nothing interfered with their PA because it was integrated into their daily routine. But comments from other high active participants suggested having a more flexible mindset about the role of PA within their daily priorities, noting that some days they will exercise and some they will not, and “it’s not the end of the world” if they do not do it on any given day. PA was discussed by these high active participants as a “middle” priority (instead of a top one) permitting compromise and flexibility on any given day.
“If we have to spend the long nights [helping] my son on a homework assignment, the workout needs to go on the wayside, and so be it….you have give and take…”
It is also important to note what was not discussed during the conversations about participants’ priorities. Only one participant in all of the groups spoke about where she prioritized herself, noting that PA ranks low because she prioritizes herself at the bottom.