Meik Wiking is a world expert on what makes us feel happier. So, is there a simple fix?
Just like that, one of the world’s foremost happiness boffins beams into my living room with a megawatt grin and an infectious chuckle. Even though Meik Wiking (pronounced “Mike Viking”) is moving house on the day of our interview – surely up there with the most exasperating life events – spirits are high for the bestselling author, public speaker and CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen.
There are removal boxes “everywhere”, he says, but in the Zoom square on my computer all I can see is a handsome Dane with surfer hair and black-rimmed specs flanked by minimalist furniture and a luminous pot plant. Denmark famously ranks among the world’s happiest nations and it’s tough to think of a better poster boy for the land of cheer.
