#49: Can happiness be rebuilt after everything falls apart?

In this episode, I connected with Nuthan Manohar, a happiness researcher, two-time TEDx speaker and founder of Me Met Me and The Happiness Tour.

Once a corporate strategist leading global projects across Asia Pacific, Nuthan’s world came undone through depression, anxiety and chronic insomnia. What emerged is a life devoted to helping others reconnect with joy and resilience through science-backed, sensory-rich experiences.

Deep dive talking points:

👉🏾 The anatomy of happiness: why joy is not a mood but a practice rooted in awareness and physiology;

👉🏾 Falling apart to awaken: how burnout and insomnia became Nuthan’s teachers;

👉🏾 Embodied science: the bridge between neuroscience, Ayurveda and lived experience;

👉🏾 Designing happiness: creating immersive experiences that transform well-being at work and in life;

👉🏾 Courage to be gentle: redefining strength through compassion and self-trust;

Nuggets of empowerment:

🙌🏾 True happiness is not found in intensity but in consistency;

🙌🏾 Gentleness can be the most radical form of strength;

🙌🏾 Healing begins the moment we stop performing wellness and start living it!

Nuthan’s empowering quote:

🙌🏾 “When your nervous system feels safe, happiness becomes your default state”

Books mentioned:

📚 The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor: exploring how positive psychology fuels performance and success;

📚 The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk: a foundational work on trauma and the wisdom of the body;

👉🏾 Nuthan’s story reminds us that happiness is not the absence of pain but the presence of safety. It asks each of us: what does your body need to finally feel at home!

Connect with Nuthan:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nuthanmanohar/ 

Company website: https://www.thehappinesstour.nl 

A word from our sponsor: https://neotopia.nl                 

Great strategies don’t fail because of process they fail when behavior doesn’t align. Neotopia helps teams turn awareness into lasting change through behavior that moves people forward.

And to all Men who want to be part of the next Women’s Health at Work session on December 3rd can find all details and registration here:

👉🏾 https://luma.com/e7z1sxbv