Transcripts
1. Introduction: Let's first understand why happiness is the most important thing in your life. Number one, happy people are generally more successful. It's often believed that success makes people happy, but it's rather opposite. If you are happy, you are going to be way more productive and invite more positive results. And wealth number 2, Health. If you are happy, you are going to have less stress, develop a stronger immune system, that will keep you away from falling sick. Also, you will have better resilience and mental health. Number 3, stronger relationships. Now relationships with other humans are extremely necessary for our survival and emotional well-being. When you are happy, you are going to automatically be more social, attract more people towards you. And you will infuse your relationships with your friends and family. With more joy, laughter, fun, and excitement. My name is Shatadip Majumder. And I have designed this course for you to get rid of any stress that you might be having now, be happy and more productive.
2. External and Internal Happiness: If your happiness is only based on materialistic gains, sex, delicious foods, hanging out with friends, praises, or external situations, then your route to happiness is only external and will only last temporarily. Now, I'm not at all saying that the external route to happiness is trivial. What I suggest is that you should be viewing thess external situations as mood boosters or small doses of motivation to keep you going forward. On the contrary, if you choose to be consciously thankful for the things that you have, the people around you, the experiences that you had, good and bad. Yes, you should be thankful for the bad times as well as it has taught you a lesson and made you stronger. Then you will find the internal route to happiness and it will last forever. I have designed this course, keeping a balance between both, so that you find your own route to long-term happiness.
3. Secret #1 - Practise Gratitude: Coming to our secret number 1, which is to practise gratitude. The benefits of practising gratitude include lasting happiness, increased positivity, and more satisfaction with life. I believe that gratitude is the ultimate spiritual practice where we consciously find a sense of appreciation for everything and everyone. It not only shows us how abundantly blessed we are, it also regenerates hope and reveals how beautiful our future will be. The best way to do this that I recommend is by writing a gratitude journal, something like this. This one is Everything Is Great Gratitude Journal by Tapan Press, which I have designed. You can easily find this on Amazon. The interior pages look like this you have the day, date, and five things that you are grateful for on that day. So every night before you go to bed, bring out your pen and gratitude journal and start writing about the things that you're grateful for. Now, what are you going to write in a gratitude journal? Well, what I recommend is that you choose five different categories. Category number 1 can be people or their qualities. Category number 2 can be past or present opportunities. Category three can be events like, like healing or meeting a friend after years. Category number four, you can choose objects like smartphones or car. Category number 5 can be something random, like a great weather or an unexpected discount that you got. So to conclude, feel grateful for everything that you have, that you are going through, have a sense of appreciation for everyone and every little thing. And please write in a gratitude journal daily before going to bed. And be as detailed as possible while writing.
4. Secret #2 - Getting Your Finances Right: Secret number two is getting your finances right. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that money can't buy you happiness. I believe that it certainly can. That having a steady, active, or passive source of income is crucial for your survival. To be independent. Buy things that you need, pay bills, save some for rainy days and your future. And also you can help others in need. In the present times, one of the most common reasons for reduced happiness I find is that more and more people are getting themselves trapped in credit card debts. If you're one of them, it's important for you to consult with a financial planner and get rid of the debts as quickly as possible and reduce the number of credit cards that you have to one or none. So to conclude, have a steady flow of income, active or passive, or both. Utilize your money cautiously. Save some for rainy days or other future plans and plan to get rid of debts, if you have any.
5. Secret #3 - e-Fasting: Secret number three is e-fasting or electronic fasting. We are living in a time of technological revolution where people are dangerously getting addicted to their gadgets like smartphones, for example, scrolling mindlessly through videos or posts on social media, checking out notifications, playing games, mindlessly going to products listed on e-commerce apps and things that are absolutely counterproductive. We as humans have the biological need of getting sunlight on our skin, fresh air to breathe, and meaningful relationships to be healthy and happy. What I recommend here is that you put yourself on on an electronic fast or e-fast. And I'm going to show you ten easy steps to do that. Step 1, set a particular time to use your smartphone like five minutes in every 2 hours is okay. Step 2, turn off notifications for social media apps, messaging apps, and e-commerce apps. Step 3, keep your phone on flight mode or silent and away from you while you are working or studying. Step 4, unless you're working, don't use your computer. Step 5, don't watch TV or use any other electronic gadgets. Step 6, go out, enjoy the sun or a beautiful evening. Visit a restaurant, a library, shopping mall, go to a park, enjoy nature, walk barefoot on grass. Meet with friends and family, instead of driving, try catching a bus or walk. Step 7, read books, anything will work. I love to read Spider-Man, Adventures of Tintin, comics. You can try them too, or another category of book that I suggest is the self-help books from authors like Dale Carnegie, Brian Tracy. Tim Ferris, Leil Lowndes, Norman Vincent Peale. Step number 8, join an offline class like a dancing class or language class or yoga class, where you will not only learn something new, you will also meet people and build new relationships. Step 9, work out every day if you're not doing it already. What I recommend is yoga. The first thing in the morning. You're going to find a lot of videos or courses on Skillshare about yoga. But I like the "15-min daily routine for beginners follow along" by a YouTuber named Fit Tuber. You will find that on YouTube. And also if you know swimming, try swimming for 30 minutes every day. Step 10, will be like, start a new hobby, like cooking or gardening, playing an instrument, painting or anything that interests you. So to conclude, putting yourself on E-fast will bring you closer to nature. increase your productivity, boost your mood and happiness. Try putting yourself on E-fast, after you finish this course.
6. Secret #4 - Unlearn & Learn: Secret number 4 is unlearn and learn. You might not be acquainted with the term "unlearn". Unlearning basically means putting aside what you already know about a particular subject and Learning anew What I'm trying to say here is that you need to be open and welcoming towards new thoughts, ideas, and knowledge that are coming from articles or people you're talking to, be it polar opposite from what you already know. We need to understand that the knowledge is limitless and we need to continuously learn, unlearn, and relearn to upgrade and refine ourselves. And it will also make you a better listener and less argumentative, which will positively impact your relationships as well. Now, when it comes to learning, make learning a bad habit of yours on the subjects that you are interested in. Read books, join online courses, invest in educating yourself. Why if you ask, I can give you several reasons. Reason number 1, sense of empowerment. Learning makes you more confident and gain self trust. Hence, you will have full control of your life. Reason 2, career advancements. Learning will boost your productivity and you will be able to make more money, which will give you the freedom to do things that you love, like traveling or coming up with a new business. Reason number 3, wider perspective. When you have extended knowledge on a particular subject, you can discover new possibilities. So to conclude, knowledge is limitless. Even we can't know a fraction of the knowledge, the Universe has an offer. So be open to new knowledge and make learning your bad, bad habit. Be it through books, YouTube, online or offline classes, whatever. Believe me, it will not only empower you, but it will also make you exceedingly happy.
7. Secret #5 - Meditate: Secret number five is meditate. I know you have heard this so many times and it probably makes a lot of you cringe. So let me try to break it down for you, okay? Meditation is just relaxing. You just set a timer on your phone. Sit comfortably, close your eyes and feel your breath. And that's it. There's nothing more to it. That's it. To begin download one of the guided meditation apps like "Headspace" or "Calm", or search on YouTube for guided meditation video and you will find plenty of follow-along videos that you can watch. Spending just five minutes on meditation in the morning will give you an intense mood boost, energy, and focus throughout the day. Now why meditation is so important and global leaders and entrepreneurs swear by its positive effects. Here are the top five reasons. Reason number 1, increased focus and clarity. Reason 2, improved emotional intelligence. Reason 3, better health and immunity. Reason 4, reduced stress and anxiety. And the final reason is happiness boost. So to conclude, please start meditating from today with the videos or apps that I mentioned and you'll be thankful to yourself for doing that. And it will change your life for the better.
8. Secret #6 - Help Others: Secret number six is help others. When you help unconditionally to improve others' situations. To add value to people's lives, you will love yourself and find an utmost sense of joy and fulfilment. Now helping others doesn't necessarily mean giving away your money. What it means is that you are engaging in an act of making things easier for people by offering your services and resources. Here are some things that you can do. You can donate blood, you can donate discords, like old clothes, computers, appliances, furniture, books. You can volunteer for teaching Sunday school. You can babysit or eldersit. You can spend time listening to people in distress without judging them. You can help others by sharing your knowledge, skills, expertise on platforms like YouTube, Skillshare or Udemy. You can help someone to cross the road. Now if you have some extra money, give it to people you know, who need it for paying their bills, paying college fees, buying medication. Or you can also donate to a charity where you will exactly know how your money's being utilized. So to conclude, please help others in every possible way you can. You will find tremendous joy and become more happy and confident.
9. Secret #7 - Travel: Secret number 7 and the final one of this course is travel. It's a beautiful world out there. The more you travel, the more you experience the diversity in cultures, food, nature, and people. When you travel, you get to know yourself better. You form beautiful memories that will stick forever. You connect with people and make new friends. Your self confidence increases and you become a more positive and happy person. Every place has a story to tell. You can simply start by traveling, by exploring your neighborhood, nearby towns and attractions you have never been to. If you're low on budget, let me tell you something. That it doesn't take a lot of money to travel nowadays. As we can get free accommodation all over the globe through couch-surfing. Now due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there might be travel restrictions in various places. So be sure to travel with precautions. So to conclude, traveling is one of the best human activities that will enrich your life. With immeasurable happiness. Take out time from your work and start to travel.
10. Conclusion: I know it might be a little challenging for you to follow all the steps that I have mentioned here in this course. But you can at least start with one or two out of seven I mentioned here. And trust me on this, your happiness levels will continue to go up dramatically. If you have comments or questions, please do post them here and I will answer them. If you want personal coaching or mentoring from me, please do visit my website shatadip.com I really hope that you enjoyed this course and find happiness.
11. Class Project: Thank you so much for taking this class. And now that you've finished this class, it's time to do the class assignment, In the Projects and Resources section here on Skillshare. You'll find these 2 PDF files. One is knowing myself better and the other one is what have I done today So you just need to print these files and write your answers. Knowing myself better looks like this. It has 12 questions to evaluate yourself and your present situation. I recommend that you do it once every month for six months at least. And notice the changes in your answers. And what have I done today looks like this. So it's a happiness checklist. It has the date and seven questions with multiple choice answers where you just need to tick mark your answer. And at the bottom you have the rate your happiness section, where you can rate your happiness between 1 and 10, where 1 is extremely unhappy and 10 is happiest you have ever been. So, encircle you're rating like this. This is designed to track your daily happiness and I recommend that you do it daily before you go to bed for at least 21 days. By tracking your happiness, you will notice how certain factors are affecting your thoughts, emotions, and mental health. You will start to understand things about yourself that you otherwise would have missed. So self-monitoring happiness results in positive changes in mental health. So once you're done writing your answers, please upload snapshots of your answers by clicking on the Create Project button under Projects and Resources tab. And tell me and the class about the changes you're noticing in your happiness levels. Moreover, I'll be always here to help you in your journey to everlasting happiness. Thank you!