Business & Money | Tuesday 23 June, 2015 10:38 am |

- The author of the inspirational book, ‘A Life Worth Breathing’, teaches worldwide audiences how to find meaning in the digital age



- Capital Club, Dubai’s premier private city club and member of the ENSHAA group of companies, recently hosted a talk titled ‘There is No App for Happiness’ by global teacher, speaker and author, Max Strom, who spoke to Members and their guests about taking a step back from technology and truly experiencing the world around them. Inventor of ‘Inner Axis’, a system of field-tested breathing techniques and exercises that yield immediate results, Strom counsels members of organisations on how to be successful, healthy, and make a meaningful difference in their lives.

Max Strom began his talk by stating that he was about to delve into “one of the most important topics of our time, not just in this country, but in the industrial world.” He told the audience that one day his wife, looking at her iPhone, commented on the fact that there is an app for everything, to which he asked, “is there an app for happiness?”; the fact that such an app doesn’t (and will likely never) exist, despite continuous technological advances, inspired Strom to question just how consumed people are with their portable devices. Albeit pro-technology in many respects, Strom aptly noted: “everything new is not better.”

The world is witnessing an informational technology movement, and great achievements are being made in the fields of robotics and biomedicine, which no one can deny is positive for humanity. However, another kind of technological movement is occurring at the same time, and is bringing with it a swift decline of happiness.

Strom painted a stark picture of reality for the audience: in the US, 80 million people take over-the-counter and prescribed sleep medication at night. Depression is now the leading cause of disability globally, and the answer, contrary to what we may think, isn’t found in technology but outside it.

He explained, “The basic human components of happiness and bonds of human communities haven’t changed and probably won’t—our smart phones can perform tasks we wouldn’t have dreamed possible 20 years ago, but has it brought us closer to people? Can we communicate better and deeper now with technology, or can we just reach them more easily?”

The world also faces a problem with younger generations. Strom said, “We’re undereducated. The more people I teach, the more I’m convinced that the human race as a whole doesn’t educate children on some of the most important things such as happiness. We were never taught about happiness or handed a textbook on it. We were mentored on success in school, with the unspoken agreement that success brings happiness. But we know that after your basic needs are met, money doesn’t buy happiness beyond that.”

He continued to say, “We’re struggling for intimacy—friendship, camaraderie - where we actually get into the same room and look into each other’s eyes. Eons before literacy even existed, we judged people by their body language and the way they look at us. According to studies, human beings communicate 90% nonverbally. Now we’re trying to communicate almost solely through text. The more we use text for communication, the more lonely we feel.”

In an effort to bring people closer to a state of tranquility, to their own individual happiness, and to each other, Max Strom speaks to companies around the world, and has most recently participated at two TEDx events as well as at the Inner Idea Conference, the Happinez Festival in the Netherlands, The Singularity University in Silicon Valley and at numerous yoga conferences.

Through mindfulness programmes, which have been implemented in major corporations such as Google, Apple, Nike, Procter & Gamble, Goldman Sachs and AOL, Strom tackles the issue of stress by teaching people that they are not their thoughts, and that their natural state is aware, alert and calm all at once.

Strom significantly remarked, “Meaning trumps pleasure and meaning makes you feel good for days after. A human being will forego pleasure to work on a project that they believe in—a charity, a cause. Of course, raising children is also not easy; sometimes it’s pleasurable and sometimes it’s not, but it gives you meaning. Different things give us meaning. Generally, these things have a spiritual or religious nature, but it’s ultimately the same. I try to live so that I have meaning every day.”