Why Italians Live Well

Ask an American how they're doing and the answer is often "busy." It ends the conversation, because busy means you're thriving. Ask an Italian, and you'll find the language doesn't quite cooperate: the words closest to "busy" (occupato, impegnativa) lean toward occupied, demanding, binding. Italy has a different phrase for a life well lived: dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing. That contrast is where my conversation with Carl Honoré begins. Carl is an award-winning writer, broadcaster and two-time TED speaker, and his books on the power of slowness have been published in 36 languages. Our theme is one I don't hear discussed enough in healthcare, where I spend my working life: our relationship with time. Carl calls doing nothing one of the great superpowers of being human, and by the end of our conversation, I agreed. We talk about: - The night Carl caught himself speed-reading Snow White to his son, and nearly ordered a "one-minute bedtime story" - How children learn to hurry, and why one of his son's first sentences was "hurry up" - Why the phrase "You have the clocks, we have the time" says so much about how cultures treat time - Why "busy" became a badge of honor in English, and the lost art of dolce far niente - What a hurry-up culture does to medicine, from 10-minute appointments to the case for sometimes doing nothing at all - Why, as Carl puts it, we're often not running toward something but away from ourselves ## Carl's seven ways to slow down 1. Do less. Rank your schedule, then cut from the bottom, and keep a "not-to-do list" you revisit a few weeks later. 2. Turn off notifications, so you decide where your attention goes. 3. Go gray. Switch your phone's screen to black and white for a day and compare your screen time. 4. Hide the phone in any conversation. Even a visible phone keeps talk on the surface. 5. Build in one slow ritual: knitting, sketching, poetry, ten quiet minutes in the car. 6. Spend a little time in nature. It doesn't need to be three hours. 7. Break bread with people you love, phones and TVs off. That last one is the most Italian. As Carl notes, in Italy no one rushes you at the table, while in London, many restaurants hand you a time limit before the starters arrive. ## About Carl Honoré Carl covered Europe and South America as a foreign correspondent for the Economist, Observer, Time and other publications. He presented the TV series Frantic Family Rescue on Australia's ABC and the BBC radio series The Slow Coach, and created the TED Course "How To Slow Down." He lives in London. While researching his first book on slowness, he got slapped with a speeding ticket. ## Links Carl Honoré: https://www.carlhonore.info Carl's TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/carl_honore_in_praise_of_slowness If this episode gave you permission to do one thing less this week, hit reply and tell me what it was. Why Italians Live Well is a conversation series exploring the habits, culture, and mindset behind Italian wellbeing — from the passeggiata to the long lunch to the art of doing less, better.🔗 To Join my Dolomites 2027 Waitlist: https://avantihealth.github.io/avanti-immersion/#joinClaudia This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claudiacometa.substack.com

She healed stage 3 Lyme disease with a cutting board and a laptop. Here’s how.Amy Riolo is an award-winning chef, culinary anthropologist, and best-selling author of 26 books named Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy and called “The Ambassador of Italian Cuisine in the US.” But before any of that, she was legally disabled for three years, battling stage 3 Lyme disease with 42 medical symptoms and temporary paralysis. A therapist’s question (not “if” but “when you survive this, what will you do?”) sent her back to the only two things she still loved: cooking and writing. Within a year, she’d healed completely.In this conversation, Amy and I talk about:* Growing up in an Italian-American household where food, family, and the garden were the whole world* Why a trip to her grandparents’ hometown in Calabria upended everything she thought she knew about health and genetics* The health crisis that led her to heal herself through cooking and writing — and the promise she made if she survived it* Amy Riolo Selections, her line of imported Italian ingredients — a Calabrian olive oil, a Sofi Gold Award–winning pesto, a white balsamic, and a rare heirloom-wheat pasta* The one Mediterranean habit she believes could do more for American wellbeing than almost anything else: communal eatingFollow Amy Riolo:X & LinkedIn: @amyrioloInstagram: @aasrioloFacebook: @amyrioloofficialYouTube: @amyrioloPinterest: @amyrioloWhy Italians Live Well is a conversation series exploring the habits, culture, and mindset behind Italian wellbeing — from the passeggiata to the long lunch to the art of doing less, better.🔗 To Join my Dolomites 2027 Waitlist: https://avantihealth.github.io/avanti-immersion/#join This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claudiacometa.substack.com

Susan Van Allen grew up on the Jersey Shore with the food and drama of an Italian American household. Her maternal grandparents emigrated from southern Italy, and that inheritance became the compass for her life's work. For fifty years she's been returning to Italy, up and down the boot, chasing its beauty, its culture, and — always — its deliciousness.Her award-winning travel writing has appeared in National Geographic Traveler, BBC Travel, and AFAR, and she's the author of four books on Italian travel, including 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go. She also designs and leads Golden Weeks in Italy: For Women Only Tours, giving travelers an insider's, femme-friendly way into the Bel Paese.In this episode, Susan and I talk about what fifty years of returning to the same homeland has taught her — about roots, about women traveling on their own terms, and about why some places get under your skin and never let go.🔗 LINKSwww.susanvanallen.com📌 ABOUT WHY ITALIANS LIVE WELLWhy Italians Live Well is a conversation series exploring the habits,culture, and mindset behind Italian wellbeing. New episodes feature authors, experts, and everyday Italians unpacking what the rest of us can actually borrow from la dolce vita.#WhyItaliansLiveWell #ItalianLifestyle #DesigningYourLife🔗 To Join my Dolomites 2027 Waitlist: https://www.consultavanti.com/summit-stillness This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claudiacometa.substack.com

What happens when a Google exec trades Silicon Valley hustle for a Roman passeggiata? Katy Mogal did it and found that giving herself permission to slow down was the real unlock.In this episode, Katy Mogal, a 20-year Silicon Valley veteran (Google,Fitbit) turned certified Designing Your Life facilitator, joins us to talkabout moving her family to Rome, the surprising legal differences between US and Italian layoffs, and how a workshop in Matera set her on an entirely new path. We cover what it actually takes to uproot a family for Italy, why Italy’s labor laws protect senior workers in ways the US doesn’t, and the Saturday afternoon that taught her to stop hustling.🔗 LINKSHer Bold Adventure: https://www.herboldadventure.com📌 ABOUT WHY ITALIANS LIVE WELLWhy Italians Live Well is a conversation series exploring the habits,culture, and mindset behind Italian wellbeing. New episodes feature authors, experts, and everyday Italians unpacking what the rest of us can actually borrow from la dolce vita.#WhyItaliansLiveWell #ItalianLifestyle #DesigningYourLife🔗 To Join my Dolomites 2027 Waitlist: https://avantihealth.github.io/avanti-immersion/#join This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claudiacometa.substack.com

As part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Visionaries of the Year fundraising campaign, I will be highlighting the humans in front of blood cancer. This week, we highlight Kristen!  To donate to our fundraising campaign, go to: https://pages.lls.org/voy/sun/sun25/ccometa To watch the full interview: https://youtu.be/IKdqGiPJjV4 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit claudiacometa.substack.com