Anastasia Korngut, right and sister Mercedes host in-person pop-ups and have a website with free happiness advice and teen-friendly swag.LEAH HENNEL /The Globe and Mail
Mercedes and Anastasia Korngut have discovered that the day starts more happily when they make their beds every morning – and to the delight of parents everywhere they are working hard to spread the word.
“It’s really a great way to start your day feeling productive,” says Mercedes, the eldest at 17.
“It helps with your piece of mind when you come into your room and it’s not a huge mess,” observes 15-year-old Anastasia.
A tidy bed is what the Calgary sisters call “a small bit of happiness,” an idea they conceived together while researching how to manage the stress of the COVID-19 lockdowns. That phrase is now the name of their burgeoning well-being business, and the theme of their Hack Your Happiness podcast, which last year, ranked in the top 15 per cent of Spotify video podcasts.
The sisters have good instincts: According to a report last year by the Global Wellness Institute, the worldwide industry, which includes spas, wellness tourism, nutrition products, self-help products and programs, and personalized medicine, is worth over US$6-trillion dollars, and growing fast.
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The big names in the happiness space have typically been Gwyneth Paltrow-celebrity types – and certainly over the age of 20. But the Korngut sisters have stepped up as teenagers and families become a significant target market.
“We’re just two teens who noticed a pain point among people our age,” says Mercedes. “Our brand is about every day life.”
To promote their brand, they’ve hosted in-person pop-ups, and created a website with free happiness advice and teen-friendly swag. Online, among smiling photographs of the sisters, you can buy a turquoise sweatshirt bearing the slogan “Be Your Purpose,” a boxed set of happiness activity cards and an Honest Heart necklace meant to remind you to “love every aspect of yourself.”
The teenage sisters control content and product design on their site, Small Bits of Happiness, while their mom assists with photography and their dad offers unofficial business coaching.LEAH HENNEL /The Globe and Mail
The science may be shaky on whether, as the website suggests, the Feel Good Feather earrings will actually inspire the letting “go of stressful thoughts.” But the “small bits” themselves are sound examples of happiness advice. Who wouldn’t be better off practicing more self-compassion, spending time in nature and getting good sleep?
Mercedes and Anastasia, over a series of interviews, are bubbly, charming and quick to recite actual research – including the persistently high rates of anxiety and depression among their own peer group.
As Mercedes explains, their research during the pandemic taught them that waiting for vacations and birthdays to feel happiness meant they overlooked everyday joys – the sunrise, a really delicious meal, seeing your best friend at school. “There’s so much happiness to be found by being present in the moment,” she says.
They studied emotions, and how to control them. When she was younger, Mercedes says, “I would just kind of ride my emotion like waves. When something good happened, I felt happy. When my friends were not being super great, I felt sad and frustrated.” But now she understands that she can decide how much difficult people and experiences will affect her.
“That’s the biggest thing about happiness for me,” she says, “realizing the part I play in that emotion.”
Today, Mercedes prioritizes exercise and pausing over chamomile tea. Anastasia values a good nap and watching Formula One racing with her dad. She also journals to organize her thoughts in the moment and take perspective by reading older entries.
“It helps you see patterns,” she says. Her own words help her recognize a toxic friendship and identify the times when she’s her best self. “It’s so easy to get in your own head, and be overthinking.”
Small Bits of Happiness runs on their own brainpower, Mercedes and Anastasia say. Their mom assists with photography and their dad offers unofficial business coaching, but the sisters control content and product design.
Their podcast, started in 2023, now has more than 85 episodes and a diverse guest list of scientists, athletes, musicians, writers and celebrities.
The sisters have discussed joy and travel with Phil Rosenthal, the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond, how to handle pressure with So You Think You Can Dance winner Jeanine Mason, and perseverance with Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina astronaut to go into space.
Asked for a favourite lesson, Mercedes recalls the interview with former NASCAR driver Julia Landauer, who offered the quote: Don’t be the one to tell yourself no.
The sisters conceived the idea of ‘a small bit of happiness’ while researching how to manage the stress of the COVID-19 lockdowns.LEAH HENNEL /The Globe and Mail
Anastasia cites productivity expert Cal Newport for sharing the best way to turn off social media is to become okay with feeling bored.
As for parents trying to talk to their teens about positive – and negative – emotions, the sisters advise keeping the conversation casual.
Don’t interrogate, says Mercedes, or spin a long story about when you were a kid. “Share a small snippet and then let your teen talk.”
Chat while on a walk in the woods or on short drives in the car – or even better, says Anastasia, let your son or daughter choose the activity.
They suggest asking: “What’s something small that brought you happiness lately?” And always, Mercedes says pointedly, put your own phone away first.