Duotone Magazin No.01 2019

THAT SMILE ON YOUR FACE AFTER EVERY SESSION, THE JOY OF SPENDING A DAY WITH FRIENDS ON THE WATER, THE STOKE OF EVERY JUMP OR WAVE – EVERYONE KNOWS THAT FEELING. BUT WHY DOES KITEBOARDING EVOKE SUCH FEELINGS OF HAPPINESS? WE TALK TO HAPPINESS RESEARCHER DR PETER LENSKER ABOUT POSITIVE ACTIVATION, BOOSTING SELF-WORTH, AND THE THINGS THAT ARE AT THE TRUE HEART OF EXPERIENCES. Interview: Bernd Zerelles Photos: Toby Bromwich “Kiters really have an inside line on true happiness” Dr Lensker, what is happiness? As a happiness researcher, I have a some­ what ambivalent relationship with the term happiness. The term happiness literally incorporates two very different concepts. First is ‘being lucky’: a lottery win or catching the train just before it leaves. This is a random construct that does not actually increase one’s self-worth. The other aspect of happiness is the one that I focus on. The subject of joy. Experiences. Where you yourself can ‘create your own happiness’ through positive activation. You could also say it’s about managing happiness, and consciously entering into a state of changeability. This is because people experience joy when they experience their own self-worth. The great thing about this is that you can shape your own self-efficacy. So is there a ‘happiness formula’ for how to be happy? Yes. Go kitesurfing… (laughs). You have to look at the internal structure of experiences to understand how happiness develops. For a high emotional quality experience, like kite­ surfing, you need to consider three aspects. Firstly: people. The question is: Am I feeling human closeness? When you kite, you be­ come part of a community, experiencing the wind, the water, and the beach within this context. It’s a pleasant environment, people greet you warmly, and often offer to help you. We chat and we share experiences. There’s a connection. The group is a soul community. Dr Peter Lensker The 54-year-old scientist and consultant has been researching the subject of happiness for over 20 years, and takes a unique approach to his work. He takes into account the importance and characteristics of various factors to measure people’s feelings of happiness. At the heart of it all is thisquestion:whydoweexperience things in a positive way? How can the power of emotions, as an im- portant driver of human actions, be converted into productive energy? And how does performance be- come top performance? But on the water, kitesurfing is a sport for individuals. That’s the second aspect: individuality. You’re able to enjoy life through this sport, and to grow. You earn recognition and your individuality is accorded value. Each kiter is an individual who authentically represents him/ herself. The soul community and individuality are opposites that complement each other and which lead to human closeness. And what is the third area you use to define emotional quality of an experience? This is based on the gear / product you are using, but in the way of it being a solution that goes beyond the gear itself. An overall solution which is so great that it inspires you. Again, there are two key aspects: the gear needs to be high quality; the aesthetics, the design, the construction must appeal to all my senses, it must be something extraordinary. But it also must offer simplicity and alleviation – this is becoming increasingly important in the modern day where everything is so complex. Things shouldn’t be intricate. My gear must make it easy for me to experience a great sports adventure. I want to enjoy it, after all, not have to think about a thousand technical things. This is Steve Jobs’ formula from Apple. Simple, with total desirability. A simplicity that can inspire. The Click Bar from Duotone is a great example of that. T R U E T R U E 24 25 T H E S T O K E O F K I T E B O A R D I N G