Happiness is something we all strive for, but how much do we actually know about it?
As the chief executive of the Copenhagen Happiness Institute, Meik Wiking is an expert on the subject. He explained that we all have different perceptions of what happiness is, but it can be influenced by a number of things.
"We've been following 600 young people to see how different interventions impact their wellbeing. We can get an understanding of what is cause and what is effect from these things."
"Genetics also matter. We are born more or less happy, but our choices also impact on happiness, as well as global and local events."
"First and foremost, we're humans. The common denominators for happiness are the same across different cultures and countries."
Is it possible to always be happy? Meik doesn't think so.
"If you look at the Eastern European cultures, being happy all the time is considered less intellectual. My take on it is, we have the right to happiness, but we also have the right to be unhappy from time to time."
"With this package called life comes good times and bad times."
