Meik Wiking Quotes & Sayings

Harmony: It's not a competition. We already like you. There is no need to brag about your achievements. — Meik Wiking

We are social creatures, and the importance of this is clearly seen when one compares the satisfaction people feel in relationships with their overall satisfaction with life. The most important social relationships are close relationships in which you experience things together with others, and experience being understood; where you share thoughts and feelings, and both give and receive support. In one word: hygge. — Meik Wiking

But one of the main reasons why Denmark does so well in international happiness surveys is the welfare state, as it reduces uncertainty, worries and stress in the population. You can say that Denmark is the happiest country in the world or you can say that Denmark is the least unhappy country in the world. The welfare state is really good (not perfect, but good) at reducing extreme unhappiness. Universal and free health care, free university education and relatively generous unemployment benefits go a long way towards reducing unhappiness. — Meik Wiking

Adults are not supposed to play. We are supposed to stress, have worries and be too busy dealing with life's problems. But according to a study undertaken by Princeton University and led by Alan Krueger, Professor in Economics and Public Affairs there, we are happiest when we are involved in engaging leisure activities. — Meik Wiking

the best predictor of whether we are happy or not is our social relationships. — Meik Wiking

5. GRATITUDE Take it in. This might be as good as it gets. — Meik Wiking

All books are hyggelig, but classics written by authors such as Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Leo Tolstoy, and Charles Dickens have a special place on the bookshelf. At the right age, your kids may also love to cuddle up with you in the hyggekrog and have you read to them. Probably not Tolstoy. — Meik Wiking

Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happens but seldom. — Meik Wiking

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. The — Meik Wiking

Hygge has been called everything from "the art of creating intimacy," "coziness of the soul," and "the absence of annoyance," to "taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things," "cozy togetherness," and my personal favorite, "cocoa by candlelight". Hygge — Meik Wiking

So, to all you introverts out there, do not feel embarrassed or boring for being a person who prefers things that are hygge. — Meik Wiking

We were silent, tired, and happy, and it was pure hygge. — Meik Wiking

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 you want to ensure a neighborhood togetherness and trust among locals. — Meik Wiking

Gratitude is more than just a simple "thank you" when you receive a gift. It is about keeping in mind that you live right now, allowing yourself to focus on the moment and appreciate the life you lead, to focus on all that you do have, not what you don't. Cliches? Totally. — Meik Wiking

Benjamin Franklin said it best: "Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom." Now, — Meik Wiking

It doesn't cost money to light a room correctly - but it does require culture. — Meik Wiking

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. — Meik Wiking

We were all tired after hiking and were half asleep, sitting in a semicircle around the fireplace in the cabin, wearing big sweaters and woolen socks. The only sounds you could hear were the stew boiling, the sparks from the fireplace, and someone having a sip of mulled wine. Then one of my friends broke the silence. "Could this be any more hygge?" he asked rhetorically. "Yes," one of the women said after a moment. "If there was a storm raging outside." We all nodded. — Meik Wiking

Live life today like there is no coffee tomorrow." The — Meik Wiking

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. — Meik Wiking

The closest you will ever come to seeing vampires burnt by daylight is by inviting a group of Danes for a hygge dinner and then placing them under a 5,000K fluorescent light tube. At first, they will squint, trying to examine the torture device you have placed in the ceiling. Then, as dinner begins, observe how they will move uncomfortably around in their chairs, compulsively scratching and trying to suppress twitches. — Meik Wiking

In the summertime, you are allowed to go for a wider range of colors, even something crazily flamboyant like gray. — Meik Wiking