In Search of Happiness

A HAPPINESS BOOST

I think after the many anxious months of isolation from the dreaded Covid we all need a bit of a happiness boost. What better way to do this (if you are an iPhone/iPad user) than to join my 'In Search of Appiness' coaching programme. 

This is a coaching programme aimed at helping people understand a small part of the new digital world, but more importantly to help people to find greater happiness through learning with good company and lots of laughter. Skills will grow, friendships will blossom and we will have fun together.

NOTE: as much as we adore our children and grandchildren they really don’t have the time or patience to help us oldies. Invariably we frustrate them to the extent they take over whatever task we are trying to do and ‘help’ us by doing the task themselves! So this is a programme of oldies, helping oldies at a lovely gentle pace and let’s all have a glass of wine ….why not!!!!

The programme is aimed at:-

• Identifying applications that help to make us feel happier.
• Dealing with the anxieties of using an iPhone/iPad such as lack of skill, plus control over personal and data safety.
• Providing a small group learning experience with a maximum of 6 participants supported by a coach.
• Having fun while learning.

After many years of coaching people (and myself) I have developed a model that I use to help people to boost their happiness. I will use this model to guide my choice of applications. So for example I use the Calm app to practise mindfulness each day, which I find improves my sleep and calms my anxieties. I also use the Action for Happiness app for the wonderful resources (calendars, events, audio guides and videos) it provides.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Many people use only a fraction of the capability of their iPhones/iPads and this programme will open your minds to new possibilities. However, the intention is not to overwelm you with too many options. So the programme will be tailored to the needs of each learning group.  

The following topics could be covered:-

1. What makes you happy?
2. Assess your iPhone/iPad skill level.
3. Learn the key features of IOS 15 (a big update due in the autumn).
4. Learn to be happy using the Happiness Model.
5. Set up a safe Apple environment and ensuring everything is fully backed up into the ‘cloud’.
6. Shop safely plus using Apple Pay.
7. Reconnect with old friends, keeping updated with family and fiends using Facebook. 
8. Use the NHS app to book doctors appointments and reorder prescriptions, plus display your Covid vaccination passport using Apple Wallet.
9. Feel confident to attend virtual doctors appointments.
10. Join social groups using Meet Up.
11. Keep up to date with your local community using Nextdoor and Facebook.
12. Connect with friends and family with Contacts, Mail, Messages, and WhatsApp. 
13. Join family and friend virtual gatherings on Zoom and FaceTime.
14. Learn to integrate Siri into your everyday life; setting reminders, taking notes and navigating to friends.
15. Learn the importance of mindfulness and how to apply it to your daily life with the Calm app.
16. Keep fit with YouTube, Health App and Fitness+.
17. Learn with TED Talks, YouTube and TikTok.
18. Manage the screen time you spend on your Apple devices.
19. Have fun with Apple Music, Podcasts, Games, TV+, Netflix and Prime Video. 
20. Learn how to take 'mindful' photos with the Camera app.
21. Learn how to edit photos and share with friends and family using the Apple Photo or Google Photo apps.

The training will cover as little as possible but as much as is necessary!

HOW WILL THE COACHING TAKE PLACE

Once a learning group of six or less is formed and I have worked out the specific training needs of the group, I will put forward a plan of attack.

This is likely to be 4 to 5 weekly three hour face-to-face morning (or evening) workshops.

Note: as we will be meeting indoors and face-to-face, participants will need to be Covid vaccinated.

COSTS

I believe learning is only truly valued when people pay to attend. However, the cost will only be £10 for each workshop and whatever we collect we will donate to a worthy local charity.

WHY ME AS YOUR COACH

I am a semi-retired leadership trainer and business team coach with a lot of experience in 'releasing the magic' in people. I love the new digital world, I have the latest iPhone Pro Max and iPad Pro, plus an Apple Watch and Airpod Pro. I have the top Apple ONE subscription and I use the Apple TV 'box'. I am passionate about sharing this magical world with others and would love to help you!

I also believe that one of the most important things in life is happiness, but in the words of the Dalai Lama 'Happiness doesn't just happen to you, you have to work at it.' My role is to help boost your happiness and in the process teach you how to tap into the wonderful facilities of your iPhone / iPad.

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If you are interested in joining a workshop, please contact me on ianhsshaw@hotmail.co.uk

 

This is my story and why happiness is important to me - http://releasethemagic.blogspot.com/2017/09/learning-to-dance-in-rain.html

Mindfulness - the wonderful Calm app

 After my wife died I attended a eight week course on ‘mindfulness for stress’ and it was life changing. I had long wanted to learn mindfulness, but always put it on the back burner as a nice to have. However, I desperately needed help, it was no longer a nice to have, so I did it. 

I learnt how to meditate, use breathing techniques, self compassion, accept my sad situation, but learnt to be grateful for all the good things I still had in my life. I soon felt that I had more control over my life, that I could deal with my emotions better and then hope and my passion for living started to come back. 

After the training, initially I used the audio recordings from the course to continue my practice and then experimented with various apps. The app I kept coming back to was Calm, which I liked a lot.

The Independent summarised it as follows:-

Open the Calm app and you’ll immediately be greeted with the gentle sound of the outdoors. It varies from person to person, but we loved this touch and found it helped us on the path to relaxation (you can change it to rolling waves, pouring rain, crackling firewood or crickets). 

We loved Calm when we tested it previously, particularly its guided Daily Calm sessions, which helped us unwind and refocus our attention. But the app has bolstered its already-great offering this year, with the addition of a new daily meditation series called the Daily Trip. Narrated by Canadian author and meditation teacher Jeff Warren, the Daily Trip offers a more adventurous – and enjoyable – practice. We found we learned more in these daily sessions than any of the others we tested. 

If you fancy something a little different, you can also pick from exclusive music tracks engineered to help you focus, relax or sleep, including remixes from stars Sam Smith and Ellie Goulding. There are also several new celebrity-narrated “sleep stories”, with calming tales from the likes of former One Direction star Harry Styles, and actors Idris Elba, Cillian Murphy and Chiké Okonkwo. We got a childish pleasure out of these and found they helped us unwind in the evenings, bringing back the nostalgia of being read a bedtime story. 

The latest version of the app includes a new gratitude check-in feature, which we used to remind ourselves of the things we’re grateful for each day. With plenty of content and at just £28.99 for a subscription that lasts the whole year (there’s no monthly offer but that equates to just under £2.50 a month), we also think this app is great value.

My partner and I regularly use the sleep stories and they work, dare I say it, like a dream! We reckon we are getting at least 2 to 3 hours more sleep each night which makes a difference to our health and energy levels. We take in the daily calm and daily trip, love Tamara and Jeff. 

The following video is a little demo of what to expect from the Calm app.

In Search of Happiness

I've long believed that happiness is the most important driver of my health and wellness. I've witnessed this in myself, my family and friends and with the many teams I have worked with in my career as a coach. Happy teams and happy people perform way better than unhappy teams, so its worth investing in developing happiness.

I think happiness is something worth striving for but first lets differentiate happiness from pleasure. 

The Seven Key Differences: 

1. Pleasure is short-lived; happiness is long-lived.
2. Pleasure is visceral; happiness is ethereal.
3. Pleasure is taking; happiness is giving.
4. Pleasure can be achieved with substances; happiness cannot be achieved with substances.
5. Pleasure is experienced alone; happiness is experienced in social groups.
6. The extremes of pleasure all lead to addiction, whether they be substances or behaviors. Yet there’s no such thing as being addicted to too much happiness.
7. Finally and most importantly, pleasure is tied to dopamine (the pleasure biochemical/neurotransmitter), and happiness is tied to serotonin (the happiness biochemical/neurotransmitter).

-- Dr. Robert Lustig

Thinking long and hard as to what makes me feel happy, I have concluded that the following don't just give me short lived pleasure, rather they give me long term happiness.

• Practice Mindfulness - I got into mindfulness when my wife died, at a time of great sadness this was a lifeline. Learning self compassion, relaxation/ stress relief techniques, resilience and learning to live my life in the moment. Learning to be grateful for all the good things I still had in my life was a building block to finding happiness again. You can't just learn mindfulness, you have to live it, which means practice - practice - practice!

• Keep Fit and Healthy - Keeping moving through walking and other sports has kept me healthy, maintained my energy levels and it releases a lot of happy hormones into my body. Eating sensibly but enjoy a variety of recipies using good tasty ingredients. 

• Create Supportive Relationships- relationships are such an important part of happiness and need to be invested in, perhaps giving more than you receive, but not questioning the inbalance. For me a priceless gift is having a special love partner, and a group of family and non-family who will care for me, love me, who will challenge me and be there for me when I most need their support. People who will give, not just take and who I will willingly provide whatever support they may need ... unconditionally. A special mention must be made for having a pet, my lovely German Shepherd Dog Thandi and the unconditional love she gives me has contributed massively to my happiness.

• Enjoy Life - being able to, regardless of my circumstance, laugh, enjoy food and drink, travel, go to cinema and theatre. Enjoy tv and stay connected with the world. I remember when we lived in Cape Town, with two kids and not a lot of meney coming in via my job as an unqualified articled clerk. Somehow we always found a little money for a date night wine and food treat or once a month (or longer) head to the Harbour Cafe for a grilled crayfish (a lot more affordable then).

• Make a Difference - maybe randon acts of kindness, helping others with their problems. Helping people to develop and grow into better people. This is such a powerful force that makes everyone involved feel much happier. As a coach and trainer I have been blessed with being given a chance to help others reach their full potential.

• Develop a Growth Mindset - I think the Mindset is a wonderful way to appropach all of life. Grow your life by developing a sense of purpose, embrace your imperfections, building on failure, but always believe no matter what challenges are put in your path, that you can bouce back and learn. 

This is my model for happiness, because when I have good friends in my life, when I’m active and fit, when I meditate each day minimising my stress level, when I look at problems and just see opportunities to grow, and when I enjoy my life to the full and in what I do I look to add value to the lives of others. When that is all in place I feel very fulfilled and very happy.

I'm sure these six drivers, perhaps with a few modifications, apply to just about everyone. What I am going to set out to do is find Apps and Tips that could help people find their happiness, because we could all do with a little bit of help from time to time.