The Little Book of Lykke: Secrets of the World's Happiest People (The Happiness Institute Series)

by Meik Wiking

to go in pursuit of happiness; to find the good that does exist in this world—and to bring this into the light so that, together, we can help it spread.

Books are wonderful idea-spreaders.

Lykke is the Danish word for “happiness,”

Great things sometimes have small beginnings.

happiest countries have a strong sense of community, and the happiest people have someone they can rely on in times of need.

HAPPINESS TIP: EAT LIKE THE FRENCH—CREATE RITUALS OF FOOD AND FIRE Make time to eat. Reclaim your lunchtime and sit with friends, family, and colleagues and enjoy eating your food slowly and with company.

ESTABLISH A BOOK-LENDING CUPBOARD A simple way to start the conversation in your community is to establish a mini-library built on the take-one-leave-one-book principle.

HAPPINESS TIP: DO IT LIKE THE DUTCH—CELEBRATE NEIGHBORS’ DAY Make the effort to speak to your neighbors. Meet them for a coffee, help them in the shared garden, or just stop to chat the next time you see them.

National Neighbors’ Day on May 26.

We are drawn in by the illusion of connection without the demands of intimacy, and while there are positive aspects of social media (for example, keeping in touch when geographically apart), we find that people who reduce their consumption of social media are happier and connect more in the real world. In

HAPPINESS TIP: CREATE CRITICAL ANALOG MASS Encourage your friends and family to have tech-free periods during the week, avoid the temptation to check your phone, and detox digitally.

Mexico: The Day of the Dead celebrations take place between October 28 and November 2 each year.

HAPPINESS TIP: EXPECT THE HEDONIC TREADMILL Take time to enjoy the journey toward your goal while also being mindful that achieving your goal will not fulfill you completely.

One morning, Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet are talking about what they enjoy most in the world. And although Winnie is a big fan of eating honey, there is a moment just before he begins to eat that is better than eating itself, but he is not sure what it is called.

HAPPINESS TIP: PAY NOW, CONSUME LATER If you buy an experience, make sure that it is well into the future, so you can look forward to it. Six

Ten years from now, what would be your dream experience? Start putting money aside in a separate happiness account.

humbleness is the bigger virtue in Scandinavia.

HAPPINESS TIP: LINK THINGS WITH EXPERIENCES Save big purchases until a noteworthy occasion, so that the item is worth so much more than what is on the price tag because it embodies your memory of that time.

THREE INEXPENSIVE ATTITUDES THAT CAN BRING HAPPINESS 1. READING Reading—especially if you use the public library or the mini-library you have established in your stairway—is free.

Bibliotherapy, the art of using books to aid people in solving the issues they are facing, has been around for decades, and the belief in the healing power of books is said to go as far back as ancient Egypt and Greece, where signs above libraries would let readers know that they were entering a healing place for the soul.

reading is free therapy.

CREATE A SMILE FILE

“Smile File” and asked to write down every nice comment they receive from coworkers, clients, and their bosses. Why? Because people remember criticism far better than praise.

become more aware of the things that we do have, instead of focusing on what we don’t.

HAPPINESS TIP: BUY EXPERIENCES Buy experiences and memories, not things.

HAPPINESS TIP: BUY MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES THAT ARE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER Try also to buy experiences that can be part of a bigger journey for you. Something that takes you closer to a lifelong passion. For instance, why not become the world’s leading expert in blue?

USA: The Giving Pledge is a philanthropic initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates that encourages the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to donate the majority of their wealth to help address society’s biggest issues, from the alleviation of poverty to health care to education.

Creating public spaces is one way to lead us to a society that is not only more equal but also much happier.”

One of the initiatives to have come out of Bogotá is Ciclovía, in which the city closes off more than a hundred kilometers (sixty-two miles) of streets to car traffic on Sundays.

WALK MORE Here are ten ways to get more exercise without hitting the gym and, at the same time, meet more people in your community:

Find a walk buddy. A walking partner can be a strong incentive to walk daily, especially when the sky is gray or you find another excuse not to.

Make Wednesdays Walking Wednesdays: a day when your family, friends, or just you go for an after-dinner stroll.

Join a walking group or a hiking club. There might already be a walking group in your neighborhood—if not, ask your neighbors if they are interested in forming one.

AS EASY AS A WALK IN THE . . . FOREST You take a long, deep breath and your lungs fill up with the moist, fresh air. The leaves are the color that only the first weeks of spring bring, and the sun’s rays dance off them as you slowly make your way through the forest.

Shinrin-yoku literally translates to “forest bathing,” or taking in the atmosphere of the forest, and refers to soaking up the sights, smells, and sounds of a natural setting to promote physiological and psychological health.

Mindfulness is about being present. Right here, right now, in this moment, and being loving and kind to yourself.

To fight the stigma that surrounds mental illness, we need to listen more and learn more. We need to end the misunderstanding

We need to say the scary words out loud, so they lose their power, and so no one has to struggle on in silence.

HAPPINESS TIP: START TALKING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH Next time you ask someone how they are doing, have a real interest in their answer, and do not accept “fine.”

According to the Mental Health Foundation in the UK, nearly half of adults in the country believe that, in their lifetime, they have had a diagnosable mental health problem, yet only a third have received a diagnosis; and every week, one in six adults experiences symptoms of a common mental health problem, such as anxiety or depression.

Shinrin-yoku Japan: “Forest bathing” refers to soaking up the sights, smells, and sounds of a natural setting to promote physiological and psychological health.

Bhutan: Students and teachers start and finish their day with a silent moment doing a short mindfulness exercise to improve their well-being and academic performance. Read more in “Brain Brushing in Bhutan.”

FREEDOM Let me ask you one question: “Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your freedom to choose what you do with your life?” What is certain is that having the freedom to choose what we do with our lives—feeling that we are the captain of our destiny—is linked to happiness.

According to the Human Freedom Index 2015, an annual report that presents the state of human freedom in the world, Denmark ranks fourth, after Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Finland. The UK comes in at 9th place, the US 20th, Russia 111th, China 132nd, Saudi Arabia 141st, and, last, at 152nd, is Iran.

Every day, we each get 1,440 minutes and, every week, we each get 168 hours.

average annual hours worked per worker is 1,457 in Denmark, compared to 1,674 in the UK, 1,790 in the US,

Broadly speaking, there are three things that take away our freedom at work: meetings, managers, and mails.

“no-talk Thursdays”

daily “creative zones.”

Two hours of uninterrupted time to get stuff that needed full concentration done.