The virus, the war, the climate, inflation, poverty and loneliness make people feel insecure. In these troubled times, there is more interest than ever for what is truly important in life: happiness, hope and love. What does science teach us today? Are we still allowed to strive towards happiness? And how do we do that? Leo Bormans asked the same question over and over again to a hundred professors all over the world: established names and young up-and-comers. Every scientist briefly summarizes their recent research after which they formulate their insights in one single sentence: the essence. To this they link at least three concrete pieces of advice: for our own lives, for our friends and for society. With contributions from the most prominent experts in positive psychology, such as: Prof. Martin Seligman (University of Pennsylvania), author of more than 20 international bestsellers and the founding father of positive psychology; Richard Easterlin (University of Southern California), one of the most respected and renowned authorities in happiness research, and Prof. Sir Richard Layard (The London School of Economics), one of the most influential voices in the global study of happiness and well-being.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How can we, despite everything, still find happiness and hope today? Researcher Leo Bormans asked this question to 100 top experts from 50 countries. Here are their answers.
THE ESSENCE
\nThe Penguin Moment – Leo Bormans 8
\nPROLOGUE
\nWelcome to the New World – Richard Easterlin 12
\nWelcome to the New Book – Martin Seligman 14
\nThe steady rise in negative emotions – Paul De Grauwe16
\nThe World Report on Happiness – United Nations18
\nSerene shores: the happiest haven in the world – United Nations 20
\nAaron Jarden – Australia – A personal notion27
\nAbieyuwa Ohonba – South Africa – The power of kindness 29
\nAlena Slezackova & Miroslav Svetlak – Czech Republic – Rising above adversity 30
\nAllesandra Tinto ao – Italy – The sense of democracy 32
\nAmsale Temesgen – Norway – Sustainable wellbeing 34
\nAmy Isham – UK – The winning combination 36
\nAndras Vargha – Hungary – The five pillars of mental health 40
\nAnna Pettini – Italy – The endless desire 42
\nAntonella Delle Fave – Italy – The experience of harmony 44
\nArthur Grimes – New Zealand – Unleash your freedom, harness your joy 46
\nAttila Olah – Hungary – The golden card of mental health 48
\nBarbara Fredrickson – USA – Broaden & Build 50
\nBirger Poppel – Greenland and the Arctic Circle – Harsh environments 52
\nCarlos Castro – Mexico – Developing student wellbeing 54
\nCarol D Ryff – USA – Well-being is imperilled 56
\nCharles Martin-Krumm – France – The joy of learning 60
\nCharlie Azzopardi – Malta – The circularity of happiness 62
\nChiara Ruini – Italy – Despite suffering 65
\nChristian Van Nieuwerburgh – Ireland & Australia – Supporting people to thrive 68
\nDaniel TL Shek – China – No man can live by bread alone 71
\nDanilo Garcia – Sweden & El Salvador – Personality and outlook 73
\nDirk De Wachter – Belgium – The true sense of happiness 76
\nDora Gudrun Gudmundsdottir – Iceland – The happiness construction 78
\nElaine Duncan – United Kingdom – Vigour and vitality 80
\nElena Pruvli – Estonia – Bridging the gap 82
\nElena Stănculescu – Romania – The effects of social media 84
\nErnst Bohlmeijer – The Netherlands – Psychological flexibility 86
\nFrancesco Sarracino – Luxembourg – Post-growth happiness 88
\nFrancis Munier – France – Friendly recognition91
\nFrank Martela – Finland – The government’s priority 94
\nGerbert Bakx – Belgium – The logic of life 96
\nGiacomo Degli Antoni & Giuseppe Vittucci Marzetti – Italy – Giving matters 98
\nHabib Tiliouine – Algeria – Nurturing the mind and purifying the soul 100
\nHans Henrik Knoop – Denmark – Our unifying struggle 103
\nHelena Hnilicova, Dagmar Dzurova & Michala Lustigova – Czech Republic – A long and happy life 106
\nHelena Marujo – Portugal – Public happiness 108
\nHeli T Koivumaa-Honkanen – Finland – The ‘happiest’ country 111
\nIlios Kotsou – Belgium & France – Emotional skills 114
\nIngrid Kuhlman – Iceland – Connecting with nature 116
\nKarma Ura – Bhutan – Gross National Happiness 119
\nIsabella Tater – France – Being happy at work is possible 122
\nIva Solcova – Czech Republic – Sress-related growth 124
\nJames Pawelski – USA – Arts, culture, and human flourishing 126
\nJan Delhey – Germany – The triad of Having, Loving & Being 128
\nJoseph Sirgy – USA – The balanced life 130
\nJudith Mangelsdorf – Germany – Personal growth 132
\nJulianne Holt-Lunstad – USA – Loneliness and social connection 134
\nKamlesh Singh – India – Global & Local 136
\nLara Aknin – Canada – Instinctive kindness 138
\nLeon Garduno – Mexico – The happy few 140
\nLina Martinez – Colombia – Mental health literacy 142
\nLiz Horvath – Canada – Smart working environments 145
\nLouise Chawla – USA – Footprints of delight 148
\nLouise Lambert – United Arab Emirates & Canada – Getting beyond ourselves 151
\nRELIGION AND HAPPINESS: THE INSIDER’S PERSPECTIVE 157
\nChristianity & Happiness – Koen Vlaeminck – Belgium 158
\nIslam & Happiness – Noraini Mohd Noor – Malaysia 160
\nHinduism & Happiness – Doug Oman – USA 163
\nBuddhism & Happiness – Erik Hoogcarspel – The Netherlands 166
\nJudaism & Happiness – Jeremy Rosen – United Kingdom & USA 170
\nMaarten Vansteenkiste & Bart Soenens – Belgium – Essentials of human flourishing 174
\nMalgorzata Mikucka – Germany – Physical contact 178
\nMarc Fleurbaey – France – Social responsibility 180
\nMarc Schulz and Robert Waldinger – USA – Social fitness 182
\nMaria Sirois – USA – Happiness after loss 185
\nMarei Ahmed – France, Egypt & United Arab Emirates – Vitality, passion and sports 188
\nMariano Rojas – Costa Rica & Mexico – A new narrative 190
\nMartijn Burger & Marloes Hoogerbrugge – The Netherlands – Urban or rural area? 192
\nMartin Binder – Germany – How perception shapes happiness 194
\nMathieu Perona – France – It’s rarely as bad as it sounds 196
\nMeike Bartels – The Netherlands – The heritability of happiness 198
\nMichael Banissy – United Kingdom – Touch is the social glue 200
\nMiles Richardson – United Kingdom – Happiness is in our nature 202
\nMohammed Al-Haj Baddar – Jordan – Good can be more, bigger and better 204
\nNamhee Kim & Inchoel Choi – Republic of Korea – A very ordinary happiness 206
\nNaoki Akaeda – Japan – Social capital and social policy 208
\nNaoki Sudo – Japan – Bridging the gap 210
\nNic Marks – United Kingdom – Five steps to wellbeing 212
\nOgnen Spasovski – North Macedonia & Slovakia – Social comparison 216
\nOliver Nahkur – Estonia – Children in turbulent times 218
\nPamela Abott – Scotland – United Kingdom – The decent society 220
\nPedro Tabensky – South Africa – Working with the clay of the given 222
\nPeter Malinowski – United Kingdom – Training our mind 224
\nPhilip Streit – Austria – Strong and Positive 227
\nPninit Russo-Netzer – Israel – A compass for meaning in life 230
\nRobert Biswas-Diener – USA – Happiness and hospitality 233
\nQadir Nadery – Afghanistan & Belgium – Living without a future 236
\nRichard M Ryan – Australia & South-Korea – Human motivation 240
\nSamuel Ho – Hong Kong – People’s Republic of China – Posttraumatic growth 242
\nSauwalak Kittiprapas – Thailand – Inner happiness 244
\nSefa Bulut – Turkey – After the disaster 246
\nSeonga Kim – Republic of Korea – Economic, human and social capital 248
\nSergeii Boltivets – Ukraine – The right to live 250
\nShahe Kazarian Lebanon – Canada – Paradise lost 254
\nShuyang Da – China – The leisurely life 258
\nStefano Bartoni – Italy – Sharing is the golden thread 260
\nStephanie Hess – Germany – Children’s happiness 262
\nSuzy Green – Australia – Coaching towards goals 264
\nTal Ben-Shahar– USA – The natural wonder drug 266
\nTania Singer – Germany – Resetting our brains268
\nThomas Wilke – Germany – Sexual happiness 270
\nTim Lomas – UK & USA – Balance and harmony 272
\nValerie Moller – South Africa – Hope shapes your future 276
\nVijay Kumar Shrotryia – India – Emotion, economy & education 278
\nWolfgang Lutz – Austria – How to become a ‘happy’ country 280
\nEPILOGUE
\nIn search of a moral compass – Herman Van Rompuy 286
\nGrowing knowledge – Ruut Veenhoven288
\nA Manifesto for well-being – Richard Layard 290
\nWhispered Wisdom: 600 life-transforming guiding steps 293
\nRedefining Happiness: The Crisis of the Penguin – Leo Bormans 294<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":56399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[21582],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-56190","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-reference","7":"author-by-author-leo-bormans","8":"publisher-lannoo-publishers","10":"first","11":"instock","12":"shipping-taxable","13":"purchasable","14":"product-type-simple"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n