Wikipedia defines Happiness as “a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy” and to be happy “is to experience happiness: a feeling of contentment or joy”. According to author and professor Daniel Gilbert, happiness refers to subjective emotional experiences that can be described as enjoyable or pleasurable, and feeling happy is a subjective state. In his book “Stumbling on Happiness”, Daniel Gilbert questions if we can compare the happiness one gets from eating a slice of banana-cream pie with the happiness one gets from eating coconut-cream pie. And he answers we can’t and different people experience different levels of happiness from eating each type of pie.
I find professor Gilbert’s analysis quite interesting. I conclude that what makes me happy, what makes my stomach happy is likely to be substantially different to what makes others and their stomachs happy. I believe that everyone wants to be happy and that a happy stomach can contribute to a broader emotional state of happiness. And if we are happy, we can perform better at all levels in our lives, we can be better leaders. So I am now more curious to learn what makes leaders’ stomachs happy, what makes them as human beings happy.
Yesterday I celebrated my birthday and I had a wonderful day. I fell asleep smiling… I was feeling very happy! Why? For several reasons not just one and making my stomach happy surely contributed to such happy day. Today I felt inspired and motivated to write this post.
All day long I received many phone calls, emails, sms, email messages and wall posts on facebook from friends and family that remembered me and wanted to wish me a great, happy day. We had sunshine in Geneva and a temperature of 23oC – it almost felt like summer.
I chose to spend the day with my husband. He planned the day, I let myself be led by him and I felt good about it. We visited some wine cellars in Geneva canton – luckily yesterday it was the annual open day when local wine producers organize wine tasting events in some cases combined with food and music. We both felt happy for tasting and getting more familiar with the wine from the region, and for making some surprising discoveries. We also visited friends living nearby the cellars and met their new born baby and this was also a great joy.
My husband had also planned a surprise for dinner. He knows how much I enjoy good food. He knows what makes my stomach happy and how that contributes to my happiness as a whole. So he booked a table at the 2-start Michelin restaurant “Le Floris”. The location was astonishing – we were facing Lake Geneva and watched a beautiful sunset with the sun reflecting on the water. It is amazing how nature and its natural beauty contribute immensely to one’s happiness, at least to mine. We enjoyed some silent moments just watching the sunset and I felt incredibly happy. We chose the menu “Plaisir” (pleasure) and we weren’t deceived. When the food arrived, starting with small delicious appetizers, all senses were continually and increasingly ignited. I admit my stomach could have felt happier with a different meat course, but the desserts that followed made my stomach smile again. I won’t tell more about the menu so you can experience it yourself if you wish to try this restaurant one day.
The whole day was a wonderful experience! My stomach was happy, I was happy! I felt really blessed and thanked my husband and God.
Dear reader,
Tell me, what makes your stomach happy?
· What is your favorite meal?
· What is your favorite restaurant?
· You must have a favorite drink. What is it? Wine, champagne, whisky, fruit juice, water … And when, at what moment(s) do you enjoy most a glass of your favorite drink?
How does being or feeling happy influence you as a leader?
I find professor Gilbert’s analysis quite interesting. I conclude that what makes me happy, what makes my stomach happy is likely to be substantially different to what makes others and their stomachs happy. I believe that everyone wants to be happy and that a happy stomach can contribute to a broader emotional state of happiness. And if we are happy, we can perform better at all levels in our lives, we can be better leaders. So I am now more curious to learn what makes leaders’ stomachs happy, what makes them as human beings happy.
Yesterday I celebrated my birthday and I had a wonderful day. I fell asleep smiling… I was feeling very happy! Why? For several reasons not just one and making my stomach happy surely contributed to such happy day. Today I felt inspired and motivated to write this post.
All day long I received many phone calls, emails, sms, email messages and wall posts on facebook from friends and family that remembered me and wanted to wish me a great, happy day. We had sunshine in Geneva and a temperature of 23oC – it almost felt like summer.
I chose to spend the day with my husband. He planned the day, I let myself be led by him and I felt good about it. We visited some wine cellars in Geneva canton – luckily yesterday it was the annual open day when local wine producers organize wine tasting events in some cases combined with food and music. We both felt happy for tasting and getting more familiar with the wine from the region, and for making some surprising discoveries. We also visited friends living nearby the cellars and met their new born baby and this was also a great joy.
My husband had also planned a surprise for dinner. He knows how much I enjoy good food. He knows what makes my stomach happy and how that contributes to my happiness as a whole. So he booked a table at the 2-start Michelin restaurant “Le Floris”. The location was astonishing – we were facing Lake Geneva and watched a beautiful sunset with the sun reflecting on the water. It is amazing how nature and its natural beauty contribute immensely to one’s happiness, at least to mine. We enjoyed some silent moments just watching the sunset and I felt incredibly happy. We chose the menu “Plaisir” (pleasure) and we weren’t deceived. When the food arrived, starting with small delicious appetizers, all senses were continually and increasingly ignited. I admit my stomach could have felt happier with a different meat course, but the desserts that followed made my stomach smile again. I won’t tell more about the menu so you can experience it yourself if you wish to try this restaurant one day.
The whole day was a wonderful experience! My stomach was happy, I was happy! I felt really blessed and thanked my husband and God.
Dear reader,
Tell me, what makes your stomach happy?
· What is your favorite meal?
· What is your favorite restaurant?
· You must have a favorite drink. What is it? Wine, champagne, whisky, fruit juice, water … And when, at what moment(s) do you enjoy most a glass of your favorite drink?
How does being or feeling happy influence you as a leader?
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Hi Claudia,
ReplyDeleteMy favourite meal is Pizza (let's be true italians!). My favourite restaurant in Geneva is "le chat botté". My favourite drinks are: Rosazzo (Italian white), Chassagne Montrachet (French white) and Caol Ila (scottish whiskey), which I enjoy most in the evenings when I listen to classic music!
Begin happy boosts my energy and drive, and I seldomly feel under pressure or overwhelmed.
Cesare Zavalloni