#35: Creating Happy Memories with Meik Wiking

14 Oct 2019

This week on the podcast I’m chatting to Meik Wiking - who  founded the world’s first Happiness Research Institute in 2011, in Copenhagen, Denmark. He consults cities, governments and organisations around the world on happiness. He has advised the Minister of State for Happiness in the UAE, the state of Jalisco in Mexico and the city of Goyang in South Korea, among others. He holds a degree in business and political science and has previously worked for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Happy memories are representative of connections and undoubtedly related to human health. You might think what has this got to do with food, diet or nutrition but these are multi-sensory experiences that cannot be separated from the enjoyment of living. This is why my motto has always been flavour as well as function - its who’s around the table as much as what’s on the table.

A summary of some of the tips that we spoke about on the episode

  • To be aware of all your senses when you are happy - think about the tastes, the smells the environment, and who you are with
  • Use and create happy memory triggers - such as an item or anecdote from the experience
  • Create a memory 'dish' and theming an evening- when meeting up with friends or eating out

 

And don’t forget to check out Meik’s new book - The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Hold Onto Happy Moments 

There is A LOT of evidence based, safe dietary and lifestyle change that we as practitioners can be confidently discussing with our patients.  Listen to the end for a summary of our discussion and how to improve your overall wellbeing.

You’ll find the recipe video that I cooked with Meik and our super interesting conversation - on my youtube channel go check it out!

And don’t forget to check out The Doctor’s Kitchen newsletter every week for some great, easy to make, recipes using seasonal ingredients!

And you can find all of this information and more at www.thedoctorskitchen.com and don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter for weekly science based recipes and listen to the end of the pod for a summary of our discussion.

REFERENCES

I would like us to look at happiness the way that we look at health.  When it comes to how long you and I are going to live, theres a genetic component  - we are pre-disposed to some diseases; there is a context component - so the air pollution in London and Copenhagen, and the quality of the healthcare system in those countries.  And then there are the choices that we make on a daily basis - exercise, diet, smoking, alcohol and so on.  And I think its the same way that we need to look at happiness

Meik Wiking

What a guest and what a pleasure it was to create that dish for Meik and have it named after Meik too - you’ll find the recipe video that I cooked with Meik and our super interesting conversation - on my youtube channel go check it out!
And dont forget to check out Meiks new book - The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Hold Onto Happy Moments - you will definitely enjoy this!
 
Check out the YouTube video here:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNh_MuFgB9A
 

GUEST: Meik Wiking

Meik Wiking founded the worlds first Happiness Research Institute in 2011, in Copenhagen, Denmark. He consults cities, governments and organisations around the world on happiness. He has advised the Minister of State for Happiness in the UAE, the state of Jalisco in Mexico and the city of Goyang in South Korea, among others. He holds a degree in business and political science and has previously worked for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is the author of two globally bestselling books: The Little Book of Hygge and The Little Book of Lykke. Meik Wiking’s new book The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Hold Onto Happy Moments was published 19th September by Penguin Life, £12.99 hardback.   Links: https://humanetech.com/ ITV interview – Borgen incident https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNeRObFIFbc

with Meik Wiking
Print
Share:

get started

The Doctor’s Kitchen App

Download our app to get access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs.

SUBSCRIBE

Free 7 day meal plan

Sign up to our newsletter and receive a free copy of our breakfast, lunch and dinner plan to kick start your healthy eating.