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41 " the best predictor of whether we are happy or not is our social relationships. "
― Meik Wiking , The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well
42 " If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is 'Thank you,' it will be enough. "
― Meik Wiking
43 " Following these discoveries, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis stated that a culture's language both reflects how people experience their world and affects their actions in it. Would we still feel love if we had no word for it? Of course we would. But what would the world be like if we had no word for marriage? Our words and language shape our hopes and dreams for the future - and our dreams for the future shape how we act today. "
44 " For the ambitious among us, once we reach our goal we soon formulate another to pursue. This is the hedonic treadmill. We continuously raise the bar for what we want or feel we need in order to be happy - and the hedonic treadmill spins faster with ambition. In other words, the downside to being ambitious is a constant sense of dissatisfaction with our achievements. "
― Meik Wiking , The Little Book of Lykke: The Danish Search for the World's Happiest People
45 " The results of five experiments involving more than a thousand participants showed that reading literary fiction improves our ability to detect and understand other people's emotions. But it can't be any sort of fiction. The researchers distinguished between "popular fiction" (where the author leads you by the hand as a reader) and "literary fiction" (in which you must find your own way and fill in the gaps). Instead of being told why a certain character behaves as they do, you have to figure it out yourself. That way, the book becomes not just a simulation of a social experience, it is a social experience. "
46 " No people can be truly happy if they do not feel that they are choosing the course of their own life,” states the World Happiness Report 2012—and it also finds that having this freedom of choice is one of the six factors that explain why some people are happier than others. "
47 " Expect the hedonic treadmillTake time to enjoy the journey towards your goal while also being mindful that achieving your goal will not fulfil you completely.Expect and understand that reaching your goal might make you happy - but only for a while. We continuously raise the bar for what we want or feel we need in order to be happy. "
48 " The key to surviving four seasons in one day is layers. You should always bring another cardigan. You can't hygge when you are cold. "
49 " The rule of thumb is: the lower the temperature of the light, the more hygge. A camera flash is around 5,500 Kelvin (K), fluorescent tubes are 5,000K, incandescent lamps 3,000K, while sunsets and wood and candle flames are about 1,800K. That is your hygge sweet spot. "
50 " THE HYGGE MANIFESTO 1. ATMOSPHERE Turn down the lights. 2. PRESENCE Be here now. Turn off the phones. 3. PLEASURE Coffee, chocolate, cookies, cakes, candy. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! 4. EQUALITY “We” over “me.” Share the tasks and the airtime. 5. GRATITUDE Take it in. This might be as good as it gets. 6. HARMONY It’s not a competition. We already like you. There is no need to brag about your achievements. 7. COMFORT Get comfy. Take a break. It’s all about relaxation. 8. TRUCE No drama. Let’s discuss politics another day. 9. TOGETHERNESS Build relationships and narratives. “Do you remember the time we . . . ?” 10. SHELTER This is your tribe. This is a place of peace and security. "
51 " Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happens but seldom. "
52 " What makes me proud to be part of the human race – with all our faults and failures – is our endless curiosity and imagination. "
53 " Nobody takes center stage or dominates the conversation for long stretches of time. Equality is an important element in hygge—a trait that is deeply rooted in the Danish culture—and also manifests itself in the fact that everybody takes part in the chores of the hyggelig evening. It is more hyggeligt if we all help to prepare food, instead of having the host alone in the kitchen. "
54 " We are not paying taxes, we are investing in our society. We are purchasing quality of life. The key to understanding the high levels of well-being in Denmark is the welfare model’s ability to reduce risk, uncertainty, and anxiety among its citizens and to prevent extreme unhappiness. "
55 " In other words, if a city is designed in a way that makes a long drive to work necessary, we harm the social health of that city. If a lot of people cycle, it’s probably an indication that you live in a healthy neighborhood. This is something that should be seriously considered in urban planning if we want to ensure neighborliness and trust among locals. "
56 " Almost 60 percent of Danes say the best number of people for hygge is three to four. "
57 " They say that your superheroes say a lot about you. Americans have Superman, Spiderman, and Batman. Danes have . . . well . . . Cakeman. "
58 " Every person I’ve met who has moved to Denmark tells me the same thing. It is close to impossible to penetrate the social circles there. "
59 " Hygge is only possible if it stands in opposition to something which is not hygge. It is essential for the concept of hygge that it constitutes an alternative to everything that is not hyggeligt in our everyday lives. "
60 " what freedom is to Americans, thoroughness to Germans, and the stiff upper lip to the British, hygge is to Danes. "