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
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.
Having things to look forward to has a positive impact on us. The holiday or the together that you have planned; you enjoy the anticipation leading up to the event sometimes more than the actual event. Looking forward also can fill us with hope. I’ve enjoyed planning things and having activities to look forward to, they have helped to navigate the turbulent experiences life gives us.
At various points in the year I take a moment to review the preceding time period and what is forthcoming. This is often at the end of the year with the Looking Back, Looking Forward workshop, the middle of the year and sometimes ad hoc too.
Like journaling, writing and sharing the review helps me celebrate the wins, learn from the challenges, see growth and gratefully acknowledge the opportunities.
My chosen highlights for 2023
Here are the themes for my chosen personal and professional highlights for 2023 with a brief example. Details on these continue in the blog article.
Commitments, Learning & Habits-
The projects and roles I have committed to I have delivered on. What has helped is consistency, focus, intention & creativity. I have worked from my strengths, stretched, stepped out of my comfort zone, attempted new ideas, used a growth mindset, been resourceful and drawn upon my various past experiences.
Social Connection and Celebration - Various birthdays and anniversaries are celebrated including milestone ones.
Rest & Renewal - much needed overdue holiday break in Kenya with Masai Mara Balloon Safari, forest walks and relaxation at the beach
Community Service & Volunteering - Mental Health Awareness Week digital support and masterclass on Anxiety
Achievements & Creative Innovation - Becoming a certified Heroic Performance Coach from 300 Day coaching program
Strong Work Ethic
With Labour day celebrated this weekend in the USA I reflect on some of my work experiences and work ethic.
I grew up observing a strong work ethic. Hearing about how my grandfathers emigrated from India to East Africa in their early teens for the want of a better life and opportunities. They faced many hardships and challenges in a new country, culture, language and at the time not much of a community. They went into business at a young age. It was part of the cultural blood. Higher academic education was less of a priority at that time.
My father and his brothers were running business in Kenya while in their teens, being trained and taking over from my grandfather. Then having to restart in a different city before taking the step to emigrate to London in the early 70s and going through the same hardships and challenges of being in a new country, culture, language and at the time not much of a community with the added aspect of cold, wet, raining miserable weather for seasons of the year.
My mother followed 6 months later on her own travelling with 3 young children, the oldest 7 and the youngest, me only 1 years old. Imagine how the airflight was then going through luggage control to get and carry the luggage with a 1 year old in her arms. The cold of the December month and are then a quite racist environment - very distance from the now diverse, accepting, aware and cosmopolitan nation the UK is.
My working career - early days
In my youth I polished shoes and washed cars for family members to earn a little bit of money. Helped my brothers on their paper round. Worked in the holidays and some weekends in my uncle’s news agent shop as well as in another uncle’s jean shop. Mid teens around GCSEs (‘O’ Levels) and ‘A’ levels I had my first Saturday job. I would go to Oxford Street, London to work in Olympus Sport at Selfridges. Did the Christmas season there too.
At various points in the year I look taking a moment to a review of the preceding time period. This is often at the end of the year with the Looking Back, Looking Forward workshop, the middle of the year and sometimes ad hoc too. This year I have had the mid year review in mind, thought about it in my head, made notes but not been able to write up and share till now.
Like journaling, writing and sharing the review helps me celebrate the wins, learn from the challenges, see growth and gratefully acknowledge the opportunities.
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.
The Week of Mental Health Awareness is ending. Mental Health is ongoing. We need to put in effort and practice to maintain good Mental Health and Mental Fitness.
Included in this blog article is the recording of the Anxiety Master Class sharing a concept from the Bollywood film The 3 Idiots, suggestions on dealing with exam/test anxiety/stress and actual scientific backed practices to help cope with anxiety. We are also sharing the resources such as videos, articles and pdfs shared during Mental Health Awareness Week.
To live life fully, develop skills and habits for positivity, happiness, resilience and productivity
Happy Life Habits provides 1 to 1 coaching, group coaching, workshops, training and regular learning sessions and programs such as Master Mind Group, Inner Compass the 30 Day Gratitude & Journal Habit Immersion Training Course. All with science, practices and information to help you go from Theory to Practice to Mastery.
Three is a magic number. Many good things come in 3s and it is small enough for our brains to work with.
I had put a request out on LinkedIn and Facebook. I am working on a blog article related to things in 3s such as:
Mind, Body and Spirit
Heaven, Earth, Hell
Past, Present, Future
Gas, Liquid, Solid
Creator, Maintainer, Destroyer
or 3 positive words such as
Enthusiastic, Inspiring and Encouraging
Any 3s that come to mind for you that I may be able to include in the article?
What 3 virtues would you like to be remembered for?
What are 3 items of clothing that give you joy?
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
Recently I had the opportunity to contribute to a feature in the Metro on Tips for better/happier/mentally healthier mornings. I submitted my morning Happy Life Habits and was very pleased that they used a few of them. I hope you find them useful and take action to apply them. We have trained many on Gratitude and Journaling. If you need support you know who to call (Not Ghostbusters but Shaileen at Happy Life Habits!).
