Up until about 6 months ago I had never read much on the subject of happiness or asked myself if I was happy. To me it was much like the question "have you ever fallen in love?". Your instinctive answer might be, yes of course! But we do find that we have to think about it first. Everybody has fallen in love or felt happiness - right? So why do we pause for thought?In my past I have written a blog post or two about 'contentment', perhaps even broached the subject of happiness, but only because I felt urged to formulate an opinion on it. I believed that this would help galvanise me against feeling down in the future. If I'm honest, part of me did this just so I could have a witty answer ready for when someone inquired about my happiness. Which they did. Lots. Must have something to do with looking so intense all the time.
If it wasn't for friends and family continuously asking me if I was happy or not - I probably would have never given it a second thought. For me, happiness had always been about being lost in the moment. Designing or talking about ideas. I could and have spent hours talking to anyone about ideas. They are gorgeous little creatures which infest our lives. Crawling in and out of our dreams, books, music, conversations [mainly beer addled ones] waiting for the perfect opportunity to take root and emerge into the light.
So What Has Changed In Me?
Late last year I stumbled upon a rather interesting concept which was new to me. Gratitude. Being grateful appeared to be a super fast highway into feelings of appreciation for things, people and places; which then led neatly onto contentment and happiness. This realisation struck me as not the only answer to becoming happier - but also an outward indicator that a person was being mindful. Contentment comes from within and it can reveal itself in many different ways should we be searching for it. Perhaps in the way that someone plays a musical instrument, or rides a bike, or even the way someone lovingly prepares food for their family. These moments begin to define us and other people relate to these as the actions of someone who has found not only an inner peace, but also a way to express it. Not matter how fleeting our 'moments' are - they all are worth reflecting upon.
Why a Gratitude App?
Gratitude is just one path to happiness, and I chose this path only because it could be practised easily. Lucky for you and me is that it can also be replicated in the simple functions of a mobile phone too. Big smiles.
When I finally decided that designing a phone app was the way forward I considered that my most important challenge was this; build an app which people wanted to use. Not needed to use. Wanted.
The bitter sweet reality to gratitude and therefore happiness was that no one would openly admit that they needed an app of all things to correct their happiness quotient or make them feel more grateful. Yet practising gratitude has been scientifically proven to help us become more thankful for the small things in life. An interesting problem, and one which I my engineering brain was curious to find an answer for.
How will HappiJar Be Any Different?
Well forget graphs, forget online communities of strangers who repeat gratitude to one another for support and sympathy. There are apps, groups and social networks out there that do this very well already. My vision for gratitude and HappiJar is deeply rooted in the humble but effective personal pleasure of journalling.
Record your thankful thoughts and blessings as photographs, voice messages or text. Anticipate and reflect upon them at a later date. Share the thanks with those who mean everything to you. Enjoy the ever changing beautiful button designs by artists the world over.
This year is likely to see many new apps which deal with mental health and issues surrounding our happiness. They are simply following the same trends as the emergence of physical health apps. Most of us will have down loaded a walking or running app at one time I'm sure. But through all the bells and whistles and training plans, none of them, not a single one can actually walk for us. Or run FOR us. We still have to do our part. An app will not 'make' us be happy. It can however help train us to be more grateful, mindful and appreciative. Therefore it can help us become happier.
How Does That Work?
Do you remember buying your first new car? Saving your money, pouring over the glossy brochures, gazing at the lush interiors and dreaming about how you would feel sitting in you brand new car. Once your decision was made do you also remember walking down the street or driving into work, only to see that every other car on the road was not only the same make and model car that you dreamed about, but the identical colour too! Focussing on one good outcome is a generally accepted way of making it happen in real life. The law of attraction works this way too.
If we concentrate and become more mindful of the great things that happen to us which may have otherwise gone unnoticed - then more good things to be thankful for will reveal themselves to us.
My job is simple. Build you an app that you love to use and want to share. The rest is just human nature.
Please share our links with your friends and if you can, pledge support on Kickstarter. Currently you have a unique opportunity to help us sculpt the way that HappiJar delivers on it's promise to help you become more grateful.
Have a great Easter Holiday folks. Roll on social media Saturday and hopefully some more backers.
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