02/06/2026
So great to meet for his inspiring Expert Talk on Well-being at KU Leuven. With his talk “Everybody Happy” (refering to his movie), Nic took the participants on a collective exploration of how we could all be happier – or at least a little less unhappy. No abstract theories, but relatable stories, insights, experiments and experiences that resonate. He did this in his own unique way: warm, inviting, and above all, disarming.
Nic shared how perfectionism and our inner critic can lie at the root of the burnout and depression epidemic. Therefore we explored possible solutions for a life with less stress and less self-torment. Nic combined insights and experiences from theatre, dance, tai chi, singing, meditation… with fascinating psychological experiments and translated this into an ingenious, joyful whole. The aim? Breaking the taboo surrounding emotions and mental self-care in a smart, humorous, and irresistibly inviting way.
A concrete takeaway that stuck with me: stop asking the question “How do you feel?” and instead ask “How much are you going?”. By inviting people to give themselves a score from 1 to 10, more nuance is immediately created than the standard “good” or “bad” and it opens the door to a real conversation.
I'm so glad we made time to pause for a moment to experiment with practices on how to deal with well-being, pressure, and expectations – both professionally and personally. It is great to see that in that way we create space in our community for open dialogue, reflection and collective action on health and well-being.
