June 24, 2020
Hussein Baalbaki Shares his Thoughts On Happiness
Conversation with Hussein Baalbaki, International Business Consultant in HR and Happiness & Development (H&D), Coach, Doctorate of Business Administration candidate on the subject of Happiness at Work, More about Hussein on his LinkedIn profile
Can we be happier at work or influence our environment to be more pleasant?
You bet!
I am inspired by our monthly Happiness habits conversations to learn that simple habits can have a massive impact on our own well-being and to those around us.
How do you “get happy”?
According to the emerging research of positive psychology, while most people say they want to be happy, humans tend to be poor judges of what will actually make them happy.
Money and material things can improve levels of happiness but only up to a certain point at which basic needs are met. Happier people tend to live in countries where the culture and economy enable people to regularly experience pleasure, purpose, and security.
I am thrilled to introduce Hussein Baalbaki who will shed light on the subject of happiness in the business world as an emerging new perspective. Working as a coach and international business consultant in human resources, he is currently advancing his Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) on the subject of Happiness at Work.
Hussein has an extensive academic background and has traveled the globe working in international hotels with famous brands such as Fairmont, Marriott and Hilton to help shift work cultures from the traditional Human Resources (HR) to Happiness & Development (H&D)
Keep it simple
In our Happiness habits conversation, he underlines the cultivation of simplicity on the quest to create more happiness at work. The implementation of easy strategies leads to greater impact on productivity, longevity in the workplace, and personal well-being.
How you can make a difference
We can all offer simple gestures such as; an encouraging tap on the shoulder, respectful eye contact when speaking to someone, along with demonstrating an attitude of caring by attentively listening with the intention to understand before responding. These habits will go a long way to engage people and help maintain positive relationships and work environments.
Here are some of the wisdom nuggets that emerged from our conversation.
Have a listen...
I always enjoy hearing from you. Which habits sparked an interest for you?
Hussein's Happiness Nuggets of Wisdom
00:48 Intro to Hussein’s doctoral work on happiness
3:40 Shifting tradition of human resources towards greater happiness at work through employee support
4:20 Google’s Chief Happiness Officer leads the way for smaller enterprises
6:52 Lebanese upbringing to happiness research, making the shift
7:41 The universal language: Smile
8:50 Laura and Hussein share the same favourite quote by Maya Angelou...
10:39 Happiness doesn’t mean everything is perfect.
11:41 Shift any conversation with this genuine question
14:13 While growing up Hussein’s “Google” was his grandfather, here is why.
15:59 Simplicity and connection into the workplace
16:17 Story of JFK and how the guy mopping the floor contributed to putting a man on the moon
17:26 Supervisors will have more impact when they find out what makes employees happy. Caring matters.
21.17 The value of personality tests and making mistakes.
25:02 Put yourself in someone else’s shoes, show empathy.
27:11 Boost happiness to boost creativity
28:50 What Hussein admires about the PM of New Zealand and her approach towards humanity
31:01 Hussein’s message to his kids about positivity and the pathway to happiness
Transcription of Hussein Balbaaki's Conversation with Laura
Laura: (00:06)
Hello, and welcome to happiness habits from the heart where you will find conversations with people who live from the heart and choose happiness as a way of being I'm Laura Wharf from the school of happiness. And I am thrilled to be here today with my friend Hussein bile, Bucky, and he will be sharing his happiness habits with you from an emerging new perspective, happiness at work. So welcome Hussein.
Hussein: (00:38)
Thank you [inaudible] and, uh, as always, it's lovely to see you and to get that happiness energy from you.
Laura: (00:48)
Thank you. I think we all dive into this research because there's a deep, profound interest in all of this, and you have a really interesting perspective to share, and I'm, uh, I'm really eagerly anticipating your work because you've been an international business consultant and coach, um, and diving into the whole happiness at work is part of your doctorate research that you're doing right now. So I'm very intrigued to know more about this and, uh, Hussein, just a little context. You've been working as an international business consultant for decades, and I know for the last 10 years or so that you've been a coach and very instrumental in the human resources, um, realm with some of the largest and most famous international hotel chains. So the Hilton and the Marriott and the Fairmont, and you've been able to lead them through some of their changes of culture as well, towards happiness and wellbeing at work.
Laura: (01:48)
And, uh, I think this emerging work is so important with all the changing times that we are living in right now to assist people how to create and our leaders out there as well too, um, create this culture of wellbeing and happiness because we know that we're all more productive and clear-minded, and focused and engaged when we feel well. And so, Hey, I want to turn it over to you and let's just dive in. I'm curious then to begin this conversation with how your definition, how you define happiness at work from your personal and professional experience.
Hussein: (02:28)
Well, perfect. Um, uh, I was thought, as you mentioned, I have been around for, for two decades. Now. I have been in the four corner of the world before settling down in Taiwan, essentially. Now I settled down and I still had that, you know, international consultant businesses going on from the great hotbed chain that you mentioned, it was the traditional, traditional HR and, and training and development. Those were my field, but all over the years, I mean, the kind of, as you mentioned, they look for engagement, they look for satisfaction. They look for, you know, like making people more, more productive, but that notion of happiness, it was never that, but that's something actually that came to my mind in one of the countries I worked for a consultancy, they called the, they call it the human resource department.
Hussein: (03:22)
I shrunk instead of itch. I should I not a big means. Evils does to my mind. I mean, you know, that's, that's pretty much interesting because we are looked at as administrative. We are looked at as leadership. Why don't we turn that around? Why don't we try to, you know, it's, it's, I know it's easier said than done, but why don't we try to shift the traditions or the human resources practices? Well, happiness habits, as simple as that, as simple as that as safe, but you know what, when I started my VBA almost a couple of years ago, the main subject was having support. And, uh, and, and, and it was a very, very much welcomed subject. You cannot tell that I'm I need, because this subject, as academically speaking, it has been around since almost 10 to 15 years, but it has not yet been practiced.
Hussein: (04:20)
Uh, I'm pretty much sure. You heard about chief happiness officer that started with Google and then plenty of folks as well, but in, in, in the, in this small organization and the SMEs, you know what I'm talking about, I guess what came up, all of a sudden came, came the COVID-19 and it made it more, more needed. Yeah. Relevant, more and more needed to check what makes people happy, because at the end of the day, happy employee means happy customers, happy customers means he will come back. And if you come back, we have a happy owner who would promote the employee. So it's, it's, it's, it's, it's a cycle that will go around and around now to go back to the definition. That's interesting. And it's totally linked to my trip around the world. I it's, it's one more, it's one word discovery. I find the happiness in discovery and discovering different cultures and discovering different perspective in discovering different people, different races, you know, uh, you name it, uh, discovery game maybe from, from the early ages where I grew up in Lebanon, I'm Canadian, but from, from the origin and the, I grow up in a French Catholic, huh?
Hussein: (05:37)
Yeah. And, uh, and all those lovely sisters call them sisters. They were there, they were nuns. They were my teacher. And I still remember almost each and every one's name. And at the same time, I was doing the mass in every Tuesday at 9:00 AM and the catechism every Wednesday, 1:00 PM. And at the same time, my grand father, who is my eyeball would come to him later on. He was the leader of the parade at the most. So I grew up with that, you know, two, two different perspective, and guess what was in the middle of the Lebanese war. So it was kind of, uh, interesting. And, and ever since I, I like to discover others, you know, as far as the respect is concerned, as far as it does not need to mean that I appreciate, or I agree with what you are doing, what orientation you have, but at least I must show my respect. I must show, respect you as a human and landscape. The happiness I did, uh, I cannot call it a research because by the services bucket university, but I did kind of a, and that's why that's how we get to know each other. I like a questionnaire. And from all around the world, what does happiness at work means to you based on your experience and the people you work with and the answers were they better developed.
Laura: (07:05)
So he was saying then from different cause when you come back then from your upbringing as well. So my understanding is because you've explored all these different cultures then personally, through your family and then through the workplace is that that's where you're heading with the happiness at work intrigue of trying to understand what makes people,
Hussein: (07:23)
because happiness though, the drivers of happiness might be differences different, but, uh, you know, the happiness outcomes is similar. The smile. I mean, wherever you go in the world, this mine is means it means the same thing,
Laura: (07:40)
universal language,
Hussein: (07:41)
universal language, you to go wide, maybe the shake off hand or the shake of head can be different, but the smile is informational. So is happiness. So basically VBA responses to that questionnaire about divided large, but there was one common thing about that is the human interaction. And, uh, if I make a jump a little bit to the, how, how that really changed and the make me more eager and more, Oh, you know, like this is it to go through that pattern as resources is the, the social distancing thing, you know, I'm a scientific Mercer. And when we talk about social distancing and when, you know, like the world cup award, the health organization, they announced that in order to stop the spread of the COVID-19, we have to leave each other as if we are COVID-19, that's positive. I'm not scientific. But tell me one thing how, how I would feel and how you would come across each other in the hallway.
Hussein: (08:46)
And we get away from each other as if we are someone who's killing you. Right? So you both, as my Angela said, people might forget what you, them people might forget, but you did what you did to that, but people will never forget how you made them feel and that feeling we will live with generations to come. Uh, it was, it was quite strange that when my wife and kids do the little walk around the block, because everyone was confined two months ago. And, uh, when I come home, they tell me that the only people who see me happy and smile and say, where's the people who, well, at the most vulnerable people want the most, like, you know, close to death than others. So, you know, it's, it's, again, it's, it's, it's a surge of happens, but your social factors and especially at work now, guess what people they miss work. I did miss work in those two months and still, unfortunately the crisis was stopped now and the after crisis will stop now
Laura: (09:53)
because you enjoy your work. It's also your passion, your vocation and your purpose.
Hussein: (09:58)
Thank you. So does exist and happens. Is that the mistake?
Laura: (10:05)
Yeah. And I think that you've told me a story, cause we've gotten to know each other a little bit over the last few months, and we actually connected through LinkedIn when you were doing your happiness research and it's, I love how the universe brings certain like-minded and lighthearted people together where we can all exchange and collaborate and learn from each other and grow and accept differences as well. You know, I mean, we both come from different parts of the world as well. We had different upbringings yet. We have these commonalities and I think that's, what's important through humanity and showing kindness and acceptance. And that the universal language is that smile. And that regardless of a lot of these challenges that we're all living through, we're all confronted in some ways. And happiness doesn't mean everything is perfect, but we can look beyond those imperfections and practice these certain habits to create an environment and a culture to be well, to be stable, to be well-grounded, to create an environment.
Laura: (11:02)
I think that's pleasant and a you'd shared with me months ago, um, a story as well, when you were working in the hotels and how you were showing them different ways of how to create that wellness culture of going above and beyond for the customer, exceeding their expectations. And you know, when people have their guards up, usually, you know, whether they're in that fight or flight mode, but when you smile and you exceed their expectations and ask them a simple question, like how are you today and be genuine about it, that it softens and lets their guard down. And that was a nice story you shared, I don't know if you remember that story that I'm referring to, um, one of the hotels.
Hussein: (11:41)
Absolutely. And that the lovely thing is, as you mentioned, should vision and you will be amazed when, when you genuinely ask people how you are, how are you doing it? That's a simple question. If they feel that Genuity in what you are saying and how you are saying it, your body language would say it while it guess what that, how are you saying can vary from science sang to you or no answer, or maybe a story of 30 minutes, right? The light and what people's bent things out. As a matter of fact, I'm currently blessed. I get, I get a new, a new challenging, and it's also in, in the, in the leadership, you know, like training and coaching. And it's all about happiness as well. So communication, we link it to happiness, introduction to leadership. We look at the happiness, emotional intelligence related to happiness. And it's all about, it's all about making people feel relaxed. And as you mentioned, we will, we will never, ever be happy. Otherwise it doesn't make any sense.
Laura: (12:47)
Life is this, and we're way down here. Then we appreciate it when we're on the highs.
Hussein: (12:53)
It's like, you know, like standard, we will not, we will not see any, any emotions anymore. Okay. I will take my sip as well.
Laura: (13:04)
Yeah. So, um, you mentioned before your grandfather who were some of the key influencers in your life that maybe intrigued you or guided you towards wanting to research the happiness subject?
Hussein: (13:20)
Yeah. That's, that's a gentleman who, uh, over the two world Wars was born in 19 notes V and he died in 1997. So he lived over nine years and, um, all he's 90 years old, I'm not very supportive, but I'm a tough guy. He was the only man living. When you shake my hand, he will make me feel, I mean, you're not till the last day of his ages,
Laura: (13:51)
he commanded your attention.
Hussein: (13:53)
You can't, you know, I mean, when he wants upright was the guy who will let take off the name of his fashion when he's dressed and go down to the river and clear it out, even though the temperature is below zero, as if he's a, you know, I work at it, he taught me, he taught me, you know, it was basic. And when I go back to visit my country and I see like the elderly and say, God bless the soul of your grandfather used to say that used to say this. And one of them always told me, he said that the, the real religion start with taking away the dirt from the street, that's your grandfather. So he, despite the fact that he was a religious person, he was very relational. He was very a wise man. And for me, I, as, as I told you, he was like my Google.
Hussein: (14:44)
So whatever I want, I go to that Google and ask him. So he really shaped, shaped my life. Uh, he had his own little moon with that, you know, wouldn't Stu uh, with a little over next to it where we use to cook our food. The teapot was always there with that orange leaves in it to smell great so that, you know, I, I was happy. And though it was very, you know, in material thing, you know, it was, it doesn't cost anything. And that's bringing me back to my current research here. When I did ask for happiness, I get answers from the four corners of the world. And very few of them mentioned Saturday. Then if you have them mentioned the rewards, I, that mentioned the relationship, my supervisor, Gary sends that word engagement, feeling important, feeling that they make changes, you know, and go back to my grandfather. It wasn't like fancy life. He did not have any intent though, for which I will play with him. It was very basic thing. It was that connection that, that simplicity, as we say, in France,
Laura: (15:59)
simplicity and connection, that we can bring that into our work life. So are these, some of the things that you're implementing into the culture, the simplicity, the connection, the caring I'd like to hear, maybe some of your top five things that you're bringing into your work culture. Now, with relation to the doctorate work that you're doing on happiness at work,
Hussein: (16:17)
what? Go back to the basics. I always recall the JFK visit to NASA. And, uh, he saw the guy who was mopping the floor and he asked him, what is your role here? Oh, what do you think? Know what you think that he's saying? And the guy said I'm helping to put them out on the moon. So the sense and the meaning of work that's happened, making people feel important that sadness, I met that guy who said, I'm, I'm the general manager of cleanliness, cleanliness. I am the general manager of cleanliness and he just, the guy mopping the floor and it was here like 20 yet. So you're not making sense. And you know, feeling important. That's, that's basically what happens. Just go back to the basics. Happiness does not be leaders. Happiness does not need to cost you money. It needs to cost you to care to here.
Hussein: (17:15)
And everyone has different perspective. It's cultural base. It's, uh, you know, community-based family, uh, family based. So why not? And in my searches, I will go and ask him for you. What does make you happy? And then make the link and ask the supervisor. Did you ever ask her to tell you what make them happy and how you can help with that? Of course you cannot. You cannot satisfy everyone. Even the creator himself, not everyone is happy with skin, right? What do you know? What makes people happy? You be surprised. That's, it's really going back to the basics. As I say at the sentence, that's what, you know, making difference at work, getting feeding someone to care, and that's not for nothing. And since we are in the work, Allie, let's go out a bit from my grandfather, um, uh, Gallup organization, the one that has been working with, with the employee engagement for four, for almost three decades now, and they did the surveys or over millions of people out on the ward, they said that 80% of people leave supervisors and they don't leave [inaudible] and this is straight forward message to you guys to use provides people that, because you did not care, they left you.
Hussein: (18:31)
They did not left for promotion. They did not pay for promotion. They did not leave for a different name or a different man. They left because of you. And if they stayed, they stayed because of you and that connection. So back to humanity,
Laura: (18:45)
I have goosebumps. Yes. So true. It's it's human centered, basic values also bringing in of respect and communication and acknowledgement and caring.
Hussein: (18:57)
Absolutely. Absolutely. I, as I told you, uh, the, the, the different, the responses I get from people, I had someone who was a doctor, a researcher in Australia, and the gentleman who sent me like a six pages. I had someone from a different country. You send me an, excuse me. I would just quote what he say. It's a shit. No, his answer reveals a lot.
Laura: (19:23)
He met his job or, or the, the role that he was in.
Hussein: (19:26)
Well, the happiness at work for him is,
Laura: (19:29)
Oh, it was nonexistent.
Hussein: (19:31)
Hey, here you go. For someone else say, I wish I don't work. So you can see that that happens. And the misery they are at when they work, as a matter of fact, the word rabbi, that's the French word. Uh, I mean, it, it gave him, uh, from, from my Greek origin that is athlete Valeo. Anthropology is a torture machine. So Skylar, you know, strange. So they, they, they considered the war as so. And that's, I gave me back more and that's not for me. That's, that's a lady. I, my mate, I laid the happiness of what she had affected that thinking of the origin of work as, as approach of machine, make us as leader and supervisor, as someone who wants to make happiness changes in organizations to happiness, more and more
Laura: (20:27)
[inaudible]. So in your work then, are you creating guidelines for those people that are listening that might be in these kinds of leadership roles, either in their community and their family, or specifically any kind of work environment, could you summarize perhaps like that, a few recommendations and saying here, just try implementing this into your culture. For example, people want the raise, but some people don't care, but the money they want the recognition and other peoples don't care, but the recognition they want the community, or they want the meaning or feeling that they're working for the greater good of building something that has more purpose. You mentioned a lot of these things. So, um, is this all part of perhaps creating that wellness culture? Like what, what would be three questions that you could ask a supervisor? Um, they could ask their employees for example, to start this process?
Hussein: (21:16)
Well, in our training classes, we do a lot of personality tests to understand our personality. Are we a, you know, like lion, are you, are we like an Eagle and not, that's the sort of personality type and what do we do with that? I, uh, I, uh, highly recommend for each provider to do the same with their, with their associate to get to know them better. It's all about openness, Laura. I mean, if you need to be awkward, uh, as, as a supervisor, and let me tell you one thing, I wasn't grossing in my life and maybe that's something back, uh, in my back and mine that pushes me to, uh, to search for happiness. Let me tell you the
Laura: (22:03)
want to be better. I mean, we all make mistakes.
Hussein: (22:06)
Uh, can I call it a mistake? You know, I, uh, in my early stages I was director of restaurants and I was in charge of 35. I did it, I wasn't charged 45, uh, uh, associates or employees. I had the, you know, like weight or waitresses, Haas, captains, and supervisors. And my restaurants used to have like 300, two, 400 per meal. So would have talking breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was the up and to fail of the, of the hotels. And, uh, one day must provisor, uh, he called me and he say, my supervisor's name was, and the lady name is se Sharina from Indonesia, the guy from India and the lady from, from Indonesia. And you said SC had just lost her father. What do you think? My first reaction was being into the operation, being into like, you know, operation minded, undermined that I have 300 miles to feed every day, three times per day. I just want to fight people. So what was the first thing that came to my mind
Laura: (23:14)
when you heard the news? You mean that her father had passed away? I mean, in knowing you now you would have expressed some form of caring and what would make her happier or make her feel cared for uplifted in some way,
Hussein: (23:28)
that's, that's a, that's the price on the experience,
Laura: (23:32)
or maybe it was the opposite extreme where you were just too in your beta brain and you were too busy, just trying to keep things rolling.
Hussein: (23:39)
I just asked him how long she would be going. The first question I said, I mean, she will go vacation for how long, I mean, my mind that was like very much operationalized. So her interests and lucky thing that I didn't say that I say that. So I actually did that example in purpose. And I told that to the supervisor, the leadership, and it's on them. I cannot say I had a good ad or not. I was operation center. No one can blame me for being operation center is a good part of the team and she needs to be replaced. Uh, the only thing is what I, I always wonder what, what deception did Desmond take?
Laura: (24:26)
Hmm.
Hussein: (24:27)
What perception? What we, we, we, we lived like three lovely years with Desmond. I was the assistant manager. We did a great deal of interaction, but still the only thing that came to my mind, always what perception it doesn't think, what lesson did I teach does matter about humanity and the human interaction, you know? So I always go back to the human interaction. I always go back. They get off people as if you want them to take it off, right. As if you were that employee and your supervisor. So if you put yourself in other shoes and know the empathy with them, you know, he didn't want to have to say it. It's, it's, it's all, it's all about the human interaction. That's happiness.
Laura: (25:13)
So that's what you learned from that. And obviously then you went through those experiences and I, you're making me think, and I know I, I worked in managerial positions for many, many years as well, and I can attest the fact that I wasn't my best self sometimes because we're under strict deadlines. We have objectives to achieve and certain goals that are demanded from us, from other supervisors as well. And that's where the focus is, right, is in the doing. And then we can lose sight easily of that human approach. And I think it's so important and understanding that, and I've gone back and looked at those scenarios going, Oh, you know what? I probably could have been more attentive there, or I could have been more caring there or whatever, more ness or not enoughness. And we could get into the judgment of it. But I like what you said is like, okay, what, what's the lesson that I drew from that, what impact did I make on my colleagues, my supervisors, and could I have done better? And then the next time then, you know, we, they make a different choice and everything is about choices. So yeah. You know, I think that probably that guided you to where you are today to want to make a difference and to do better.
Hussein: (26:18)
As I told you, it might be maybe something in my back mind here that then me, you know, because of that mistake that you did like 15 years ago, you need to go and what model you men leave with people. And that's why the human resources, I love the English way of saying it because in fresh that resource coming before the human
Laura: (26:38)
[inaudible] men or human resources,
Hussein: (26:41)
I love the human part more than resources. I hate to call them in human capital. They are human being. And, uh, and the lessons told us the experience on Google told us the great companies that they have chief happiness officer does updating us, proving to us that the more happy your people are, the more close you up your people, then your deadlines and your operation, then your a, you know, standards would be even met. They could get in a better way.
Laura: (27:11)
So focus on being happy first, not being more productive first, cause the happier our employees and our colleagues are then the more productive they become and not the opposite way around.
Hussein: (27:22)
And you would be amazed how creative they will go.
Laura: (27:25)
That's true. I know that for myself, whenever I take my downtime and allow for space, the creativity comes and I feel well, you know, I, I do still have some really big weeks where there's some weeks that we all have that are just more faced with tighter schedules and deadlines, but I, the end of those weeks, I'm a little depleted and less creative and more cranky.
Hussein: (27:47)
Absolutely. Absolutely. And thank you for always being very, very straightforward, honest, and encouraging me to open up. But as you say, and as we agreed, I mean, creativity, it will, it will not come from pressure to not come from being standardize. I'm thinking about who would it place se if she goes for a report, a death, a vacation, mr. Leader, mrs. Leader, be more human. I love the lady that she's making the news. Now the, uh, the prime minister of New Zealand, they did, they did great in the COVID-19. They did great after a terrorist attack that took place in their country. They did great. As a matter of fact, today, I watched her for two minutes, this, she was challenged to resume in two minutes, the achievement, I like it. Look at that. I just shared it on my LinkedIn in two minutes. So go through the whole achievement. They did two years.
Hussein: (28:50)
That lady said, I I'm trying to quote as much as possible, but you know, forgive me if I forget something. She said, I have been criticized of being soft. If the size of being empathetic, I have been to the size of my being firm enough, but after they years, I can tell you, you can be compassionate and a great human and a great leader at the same time. That's very true. And she's leading our great country. [inaudible] 400, 500,000 people, 5 million human beings. And that's very true. I gave go back to humanity, go back to that interaction. And, and the number one key advice, if you are looking for that will be mr. Supervisor, sit in an open minded discussion, whether in a group of your people or a one on one that's discussed, what makes you happy at work and what does not make you happy at work?
Hussein: (29:46)
And let's concentrate on what makes you happy at work and see how we can change that thing. Now, of course, everyone wants like a double salary every once in a while. So we have to be rational as well. We have to use the right as well as the left my side of our brains. But believe me, you would be surprised that very few would maybe on the shoulder, maybe look at my eyes when I talk to you, we'll leave enough. Some people will come to you, mr. Supervisor, and they don't want to list out the seven habits of highly effective people say, listen with the intention to understand and not to respond. So that's very true. So it's amazing.
Laura: (30:32)
Yes. Yeah. And a question of alignment too, you know, I think having the right people in the right positions and the right organization as well. Yeah. That's a whole other subject. So, you know, you have so much wealth to offer here. Let me just ask you a final question. What kind of impact or legacy do you want to leave in the corporate world could be corporate, could be your family so that your colleagues remember you in a certain way or your, uh, thesis leaders, remember you in a certain way or your children remember you in a certain way. And maybe it's the same answer for all of the above, but what's your, what, what, what do you want your legacy or people to remember the impact or the contribution that you've made?
Hussein: (31:14)
Oh, I didn't see. That
Laura: (31:16)
just came to me. So I'm putting you on the hot spot, the hot seat,
Hussein: (31:21)
especially when, uh, when you, uh, when you take a life example and, and you know, like I positivity that's, that's what I want to, uh, positivity because, um, and again, talking to, uh, something a bit personal here, I have four kids. You met the smallest one. I have, I have a twin I'm way on the go. Well, how is the boy? When the school was closed, everyone was stressed out, you know, what will happen next? And so he came to me and said, there, six years in Montreal, six years mid next year, it is high school for them. So they say that, are we going to go to the, you know, like official exam of the government this year? I said, I don't think so, because we never know if the school is open back, then he goes, dad, what could the school will not offer? You're thinking from the open again. I said, you know what? Let's let me tell, advise you to enjoy your vacation earlier this year and pumped into what mommy is to you at all. Let me say that. What if next year, the high school will not, bye. What if an earthquake will happen right away under the earth who open and it will swallow all of your sisters, your brother, your mother, and you fund all of, and my, my, my wife looks at me like, strangely, I'm going fine.
Hussein: (32:47)
Doesn't have too much mountain here, but, well, they are up all of a sudden. I said, listen, I want you to take alcohol. If you want to create, I have, I must, as you said,
Laura: (32:58)
I have a ton of them. Yeah.
Hussein: (33:00)
I have none of them. But if you want to go for positive scenarios, here you go, concentrate on what is positive in your life. Uh, what I get and just to bring it back to, uh, to, uh, to the company. Um, when I get the complaint, actually I was in one, uh, group counseling session and they were complaining one another. I said, that's great. I need you to sit together. And for each negative, Oh man, you'll have to find three positive comments. And then you tell him that negative comment. Well, I'd like to point a negative constructive. It was like very tough. I said, so you need to, so if you have like 10 negative, uh, items, you want to discuss with him, you have to find out 30 positive items and then I will be there. It was tough. But then they found out that it is more positivities than negativity. If you are looking on that,
Laura: (33:57)
that's true. And I've seen the research as well, that by focusing on those positive points and what we focus on grows. And so we're rewiring different neural patterns within our brain when we start focusing on what's right, as opposed to what's wrong. And it does take practice, but we can all get there.
Hussein: (34:13)
Absolutely. So positivity is the key and positivity leads to happiness.
Laura: (34:20)
What a fabulous conclusion. That's powerful. That's powerful. Wow. Thank you. Well, it's been really a pleasure and I'm sure we could have future conversations. I want to keep them concise enough so that our listeners can, can try to take it all in, but you've offered, uh, all kinds of different tips and wonderful wisdom nugget nuggets that we can easily implement into both our work life and our personal life. And, um, we'll continue the conversations, but I, I certainly want to wish you well on the continuation of your doctorate and also then the implementation of all this wonderful work so that it can trickle down into all these organizations. And if we have listeners out there that are leaders in any way, leaders of families, communities, or organizations pick one nugget today, that Hussein has shared with us and implement that into your organization, then let's shift the culture towards more caring and more kindness and more positivity. So Hussein, I'm going to, um, any parting words or any other information that you'd like to leave our listeners with or resources?
Hussein: (35:36)
Well, absolutely will call
Laura: (35:38)
the Quebec government [inaudible] and it's fine that he went well. So it'd be annihilate. It will go all wet. And it really did go well. So we had that positivity in mind, two months ago, everyone was afraid of how the word was out and it turns out to be not as bad as we expected, which is great. And I will invite you. So once you are in Montreal to come and visit, it's a lovely city. I love it so far. Thank you so much. Well, thank you for our listeners as well for joining this conversation with Hussein bottled Bucky happiness habits from the heart, and I'm Laura Wharf signing off from the school of happiness, and we'll see you next time. Bye for now.
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