Is you life too busy, boring or bland? If yes, read on, focus on self-renewal and energy management making your life beautiful by prioritising how you use your energy, time and attention to engage in activities that help you flourish, thrive, have zest and engagement to feel fully alive.
The year 1994 was a defining year in my life. I was just reflecting and realised that 2024 marks 30 years since I started my personal development and growth journey.
In the story of Jesus’ birth there are three kings who come bearing gifts. In Charles Dickens’ The Christmas Carol there are 4 ghosts who visit Ebeneezer Scrooge. His business partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
On 11th Dec 2020 our world changed when my father suddenly passed (https://www.happylifehabits.co.uk/news/2020/12/24/live-love-learn-amp-legacy) away within 36 hours. He was the primary carer for my mum. We had the gifts and ghosts of : Old age, Grief, Loneliness, Parkinsons and Dementia. That was part of our inheritance.
Without those gifts and ghosts this article would not be written, published and shared.
As time goes by the probability that someone close to you will be impacted by dementia is increasing.
“One of the hardest things in life is to know that you can not stop the decline as you witness firsthand the diminishing cognitive capacity of a loved one due to progressive incurable neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s or Dementia.
To observe them becoming a shadow of themselves day by day; the impact on their physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing. Knowing there is nothing you can do to stop that decline. Experiencing the loss each day as anticipatory grief.”
Shaileen Shah - Carer, Happy Life Habits Coach, Speaker and Trainer.
This article is about my role as a carer for my mum who is elderly, grieving, lonely and suffering from the progressive and incurable neurological conditions of both Parkinson’s and Dementia. It shares the perspective of the carer, the challenges faced, how best to look after yourself as well as how to look after and interact with someone who has these conditions or someone you are caring for.
I salute all those who are carers of any type and ask you to support those who you know who are doing a caring role.
The blog was not planned. The fantastic Mel Robbins video The World Needs Your Light prompted a thread connecting various content. The essence is about being the light, shining our light. This is by living and expressing our virtues, qualities and values. The World Values Day and the Book Club help by recognising the values and virtues that are important to us, how we become Heroic in expressing them each day to be our best and contribute to positively serving the world.
For those who have joined the book club or ordered the book from Happy Life Habits watch this video on the Heroic 7 Objectives to get a sense of what the book is about and how we use it to be our Heroic Self.
In addition to being a coach, speaker and trainer, I am now also an author of the ebook, “Every Day Happiness”.
‘Every Day Happiness’ provides understanding, tools and habits we can utilise to navigate a world with rising uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. This increase makes more demands on our Physical, Mental, Emotional, Social and Spiritual Wellbeing. Everyday Happiness is a nonfiction book written for professionals, business owners, leaders and managers reminding them to choose to put Happiness and Positive Emotions at the heart of everything they do. Thereby they will have better happiness, mental and emotional wellbeing, productivity and life satisfaction in all areas of their life.
Gratitude is my superpower. When I am immersed in the feeling of gratitude I come alive, have hope, optimism, see some many possibilities, am creative and very productive. My whole energy is different - feel very positive, connected and grounded.
Gratitude is my Superpower
7 THINGS THAT AFFECT YOUR VIBRATORY FREQUENCY FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF QUANTUM PHYSICS
What are your Superpowers?
Thanksgiving
Inner Compass Good Life
Outstanding Black Friday Offer
On the Happy Life Habits Community Facebook Group we regularly share quotes, reflective / thought provoking questions, articles and events. We recently asked “What strategies do you use to keep calm through challenging situations?” and have a good response to it.
May prove to be useful this month as students get their “A” Level and “GCSE” results.
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
My teenage son asked me if I thought he was a leader or a manager. He asked after I picked him up from school where he had an interview for head boy, a role he had put his name forward for. He had been asked the question. I answered I thought he was a leader, I asked what he had answered and it was the same. Then I asked what he thought the difference between the two was.
I shared with him some thoughts I have learnt over time from Stephen Covey, Robin Sharma, John Maxwell, Simon Sinek, Nick Williams and my own experience of leadership.
Some of this I had shared with Xerox The Women's Alliance (TWA): Xerox Women’s Alliance – UK & Ireland Chapter in the talk titled " The Role of Effective Selfcare in Positive Leadership".
"Leadership is an act not a position"
"Leadership is not about taking charge but looking after those in your charge" Simon Sinek
"Leadership is about bring out the best in the people you work with"
With my son I shared the difference between Leadership and Management using the Stephen Covey example of Management being about climbing a ladder and Leadership about making sure the ladder is against the right wall. I used example of management painting house - sanding correctly, applying primer, 2 coats and doing it properly. Leadership being making sure it is the correct house that is being painted.
"Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things".
What are your thoughts on leadership and management?
Have you had any interesting conversations lately?
I'm singing my praises, not to stroke my ego but to reaffirm to myself when sometimes I feel doubt, insecure, unmotivated or inspired. To remind why I get up in the morning and do what I do : Positively Impacting Happiness & Wellbeing Levels.
On 30th June we completed the 30 Day Happy Life Habits Gratitude & Habit Immersion Training Course. During the celebration calls the participants shared some of the changes that the had experienced - some were quite transformative. All rated the course excellent or very good.
With us being 6 months into the year I often take the opportunity to look back and to look forward - to review, reflect and remind.
In December just before the year end we had a Looking Back, Looking Forward Workshop - reflecting on last year and planning next. This was postponed from original date due to the death of my father in mid December.
We delivered 90 days of training through 3 instalments of the
30 Day HLH Gratitude & Journal Habit Immersion Course - this was Jan, Mar and June.
From Late Jan through Apr during lockdown; through 2 series; we supported with 12 consecutive weeks of Inspiration Point Podcast featuring amazing people sharing their journeys, One series was dedicated to Women, Mothers Day and International Women's Day.
In March we celebrated International Day of Happiness using the Wonder platform and having a variety of speakers, coaches, therapists, practitioners share in zones for Laughter, Relaxation, dealing with loss and conversations.
We took part in some talks with Healing Our Earth and SRMD in March and April
During May we supported Mental Health and Mental Health Awareness week (MHAW) with
Daily Videos - various groups
Events with Asian Parents Club before and after MHAW
Xerox The Womens Alliance talk
2 Happiness Booster sessions - one with Oshwal Connect
Daily quotes in Happy Life Habits Community Facebook group
Hosting a 21 Day Simple Living Challenge
Shared through various articles, blog post etc on Facebook, LinkedIn and the HLH website.
The Future continues with
Corp talks/workshops
Wellness event by Iglobal
Taking part in podcasts
Hosting more Inspiration Point Podcasts
Asian Parents Club sessions including one on Grief
HLH MasterMind Group - new exciting monthly project
30 Day HLH Gratitude & Journal Habit Immersion Course
What is one of your memorable, positive events, impacts, achievements from the last 6 months?
What are you looking forward to in remaining 6 months of the year?
The new and fun virtual event platform called Wonder that just turned 1 years old has a feature on Happy Life Habits in it’s July newsletter. We used Wonder for the International Day of Happiness event on 20th March 2020. as Happy Life Habits we are using it for various meetings and events.
Here is the write up.
"With a few simple adaptations to your routine, you can positively rewire your brain to bring high self-esteem, focus, and happiness into your everyday life."
Meet Shaileen Shah: the happiness coach trying to keep the business world an emotionally positive place. The founder of Happy Life Habits, Shaileen has a unique approach to personal development and the 'Science of Happiness'. A scientifically certified process that uses real life and digital gatherings to increase the 'feel good' chemical in the brain? Sign us up.
Q: Tell us about Happy Life Habits.
A: Happiness is a skill that can be learned and developed into empowering life habits. Happy Life Habits introduce off-screen practices and habits to rewire the brain and increase happiness levels. Developing an offline tool kit allows you to disconnect the practice from a fixed environment, and allow your brain and feelings to fully surface without distractions. We then use online check-ins to share the knowledge, reflect with others, and solidify the practice in a professional environment.
Q: Tell us about your last event.
A: Most of our events are currently online and we foresee a good proportion being so in the future. We have a 30 Day Gratitude & Journal Habit Immersion Training Course with a mix of live online sessions, a private Facebook group, and accountability via WhatsApp. The goal is to deliver content online but connect to your offline brain.
Q: Why are you using Wonder?
A: I used Wonder to create an event for International Day of Happiness on 20th March. I set up Areas for Laughter, Relaxation, Conversation, and Dealing with Loss; being able to define specific Areas for people to meet removes the awkward introductory periods in other online tools. It worked so well and people were immediately able to connect to like-minded individuals and approach whom they wanted to speak to. The experience lends itself to a natural environment for having conversations that stick with you after the laptop is closed. Because of the simple UX, easy setup, and Area control, my guests had a memorable and positive experience with Wonder, and made a positive connection to the material. It's the perfect platform for hybrid events.
Check out Happy Life Habits and join their upcoming training course on Happiness. Mention Wonder and get a discount ;)
Excited to join @iglobalmedia for its first-ever Great Big Indian Wellness Show, on 16 & 17 July 2021. Join me as I discuss “Happiness Habits” at the BIGGEST & BEST health and wellbeing event for the welfare of the modern British Indian. Book your free virtual seat today & don’t miss out to be a part of 2 riveting days of masterclasses, top tips and discussions at #iWellnessShow. Register NOW https://bit.ly/iGlobal-TheGreatBigIndianWellnessShow2021
I’ll be sharing on 17th at 16:25.
HLH MasterMind Group
A place for a small group of like minded positive people each month to come together online, connect, support, inspire, share and cheer each other on in life's journey.
A segment for learning - a book, podcast, conversation, reflection or article that has inspired us.
A segment for brainstorming practical solutions to a problem that a member is facing, tapping into the collective wisdom of the group.
An opportunity to take consistent steps towards our goals within an environment that helps accelerate our learning, growth and progress.
Limited spaces.
We start on the 16th of July and run each month with virtual 90 min virtual meeting plus private Facebook Group.
Inspiration Point Podcast Series 4 confirmed for Autumn with another amazing line up. Booking and episode details will be available later this month.
A request dear friend and reader.
(1) If you have enjoyed some of the articles I have shared and found useful please reply to shaileen@happylifehabits.co.uk and let me know.
(2) If you are not a subscriber to the Happy Life Habits email list - please sign up.
(3) If you think someone else might benefit from this please share with them.
(4) If you want to engage my services for coaching, speaking or training get in touch and lets see if we can create a win-win result.
If you want to receive articles, information on events and support Happy Life Habits sign up to the join the email list.
Happy Life Habits FaceBook Community Group
Happy Life Habits FaceBook Page
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaileen-shah/
Shaileen Shah is a Happiness Coach, Speaker and Trainer. Previously having been in finance technology for the investment banking arm of RBS during the RBS takeover of Natwest, the RBS takeover of ABN Ambro and the financial crisis he has experienced the challenges brought by uncertainty, change and stress. He is certified in The Science of Happiness and shares through Happy Life Habits. Happy Life Habits Positively Impacts Happiness & Well Being Levels by creatively and uniquely combining Personal Development + The Science of Happiness + Spirituality. A business for Good. For more information see HappyLifeHabits.co.uk.
This article was written for the Oshwal Health and Care Fair Brochure as part of the Oshwal Health and Care Fair in June 2019 where Happy Life Habits had a talk on Stress and Resilience.
Why be Happy, Healthy, Wealthy and Wise?
Recently I read
“You only live once. That is incorrect! You die once but you get to live every day.”
