Look around your home. Notice what catches your eye that causes you stress and what things make you happy. More often than not, a pet or a photo of a family outing brings a moment of happiness, a new appliance or pair of shoes probably not as much. As the old adage says, money can’t buy happiness. So what can be done in and around the home to provide small bits of day-to-day joy? To find out, Positive Psychology Podcast Host Lisa Cypers Kamen speaks with the CEO of the Happiness Institute in Copenhagen, Meik Wiking about hygge and happiness. Meik shares the research behind his latest book, My Hygge Home: How to Make Home Your Happy Place, and offers design hacks everyone can use to create an atmosphere of happiness.

Meik Wiking — The Good Life:

• The principles of Hygge, or the art of creating a nice atmosphere to encourage everyday happiness. [3:09]
• Meik focuses on the little things that bring us happiness in our day-to-day lives. [6:50]
• A research study of 13,000 households in ten countries found clutter to be one of the biggest barriers to happiness in the home. [9:25]
• What role does money play in human happiness? [10:31]
• Activities that are done with purpose, with others, and that decouple wealth and well-being can increase day-to-day happiness. [16:21]
• In his book, My Hygge Home, Meik includes design hacks to live better and the Cezanne effect. [21:38]

This episode of Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio is sponsored by: