The Little Book of Lykke: Secrets of the World's Happiest People

Join the happiness revolution! The author of the New York Times bestseller The Little Book of Hygge offers more inspiration and suggestions for achieving greater happiness and a better quality of life, by practicing Lykke (LOO-ka)—pursuing and finding the good that exists in the world around us every day.

While the Danes are the happiest people on the planet, happiness isn’t exclusively Danish; cultures around the world have their own unique approaches to leading a contented, fulfilled life. For his work at the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen, based on his extensive happiness research, Meik Wiking travels the globe from Dubai to Finland, Rio de Janeiro to Bhutan, South Korea to the United States, to discover the secrets of the very happiest people.

In The Little Book of Lykke, Meik identifies the six factors that explain the majority of differences in happiness across the world—togetherness, money, health, freedom, trust, and kindness—and explores what actions we can take to become happier. As he reveals, we can deepen our blissfulness and contentment with little adjustments in our behavior, whether it’s eating like the French (sitting around a table and savoring our time) or dancing the tango like Argentinians in Buenos Aires.

With his trademark warmth and wit, Meik explores the happiness gap for parents, how much money you really need to buy happiness, how we can be healthier without having to go to the gym, how we can learn to build trust and collaboration, how we can help ourselves by helping others, and why our expectations often outweigh our reality. Weaving together original research from the field of positive psychology and personal anecdotes, The Little Book of Lykke is a global roadmap for joy that offers a new approach to achieving everyday happiness that not only improve our own lives, but help us build better communities and a better world.

This global roadmap for joy reveals proven strategies to improve your quality of life:

• Community Building: Learn why togetherness is a cornerstone of contentment and discover practical ways, from Danish cohousing to community gardens, to strengthen your bonds with others.
• Work-Life Balance: Explore the secret to leaving the office at 4 p.m. guilt-free and find the freedom to prioritize time with family and friends.
• Health and Wellness: Find out how to be healthier without hitting the gym by integrating movement into your daily life, the way cyclists do in Copenhagen.
• Acts of Kindness: Uncover the science behind the "helper’s high" and see how simple, kind actions can generate profound happiness for you and those around you.
• Building Trust: See why trust is a superpower for happiness, from leaving babies to sleep outside cafés in Denmark to creating workplaces that thrive on collaboration.