What Makes People Happy
I don’t
know why, but for some reason some of my friends and I always look at the annual
rankings for the happiest countries in the world. It was always really
interesting to see which countries became “more or less happy” over the years.
For the most part, however, the happiest countries didn’t seem to fluctuate
much. When I checked this year’s rankings, they were nearly the same as before,
and it made me wonder if there are any trends among these countries that
continually rank high on the list every year.
According to Forbes, some of the happiest countries in the
world in 2018 are Finland, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Iceland, and Switzerland.
These rankings are based on six factors: GDP, life expectancy, social support,
generosity, freedom, and corruption. In the descriptions for why these
countries’ inhabitants seem to be so satisfied with their lifestyles, many of
the same factors were brought up. Most of the countries have excellent health,
welfare, and education systems. Although most of these countries are thriving
economically, they aren’t necessarily the richest countries in the world. In
fact, many countries with thriving economies that you would expect to see on
this list are not there. This trend shows that even though so many people think
that money will make them happy, and center their lives around getting a good
job (whether it is a career that they are truly passionate about or not), it is
statistically proven that money will not necessarily make you happy. Instead,
the happiest countries of the world often describe nations as thriving upon a
“laissez-faire” approach to life. In other words, they have very flexible
lifestyles and just go with what they truly want to do. This is in stark
contrast with many of the powerhouse countries of the world where getting the
best scores, going to the best schools, and getting the best jobs are the focus
of the inhabitants’ lives.
I think this seemingly trivial ranking of the happiest
countries of the world reveals something important about our mindsets and goals
for life.
I have also looked at the rankings a lot in the past. Many of the top 10 happiest countries are the ones that I think of as having people who are very chill and easygoing. I think there is definitely a correlation between the two.
ReplyDeleteI have thought about whether one can have a non stressful life while also challenging oneself, and haven't come to a satisfactory conclusion yet.
I think it's really revealing how not many of the richest countries in the world are on that list. I have always been a firm believer that money is important, and although it doesn't make you happy, it can help you achieve happiness. However, what's more important is the ability to live the life you want. I feel the happiest countries in the world allow their citizens to do almost whatever they want without a ton of social pressure, which allows people to do what they love. At the end of life, all that's going to matter is whether you lived a life you're happy with, and whether you were able to do what you truly wanted.
ReplyDeleteI started looking the happiest countries in the world list after I came to Uni lol. It was around the time I felt America was at its all time low since there was a lot of social problems, like police brutality and the fact that Donald Trump was elected president. So, I remember just randomly searching up best countries in the world because I was so ready to leave and the first thing that showed up was CNN's list for the happiest countries in the world. I was extremely shocked that none of the major powerful countries made the list, while the small, not so wealthy European countries did. I've always lived by the motto that money can't buy you happiness and that list just further proved that point.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post. I feel like most people have checked the happiest countries list and then want to move to the happiest country. So this was an interesting idea to write about this, and I feel like your ideas are developed really well. I don't know if this is just me but on two of the paragraphs the words go on in a straight line... Besides the formatting, great post!
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely true that the happiest a person can be is not at all dependent upon their wealth or the relative wealth of the country they live in. I think you really hit on it when you noted that richer countries tend to measure every inhabitant by test scores, prestigious institutions, and wealth: In places like America, we are all in competition with each other, and we judge ourselves based on the seemingly unreachable successes of others. We would all be a lot happier if we could stop trying to out-money and out-status each other and just focus on what truly gives us joy.
ReplyDelete