There are 22 countries that are happier than America. One man visited them to understand why.
Comment: i think anything can make us happy,and indeed we don't have to be ambitous coz once we failed from achieving something, that makes us unhappy.a lighter heart also can make us happy,no burdens and no worries,prayer i think is the best key to it!
Comment: Live and let Live I say. The most conservative and the most liberal country are happiest. I find that the majority of people (everywhere) live and let live. They are busy 'doing' and HELPING others to 'do' and have little time to be petty. People on the right and the left have too much time for resentment and spend a lot of time dwelling in hate. That very small minority in every country drags all of the rest that chose to be happy :)
Comment: Live and let Live I say. The most conservative and the most liberal. There is no fixed way to happiness since happiness can also be in the eye,mind,heart of the beholder. I notice that haters are everywhere and although I have experienced a lot of hardship due to my ethnic background it has given me an insight that most people that don't move out side their comfort zone will never have. Conclusion we are all Equal.
Comment: this book should have a theme song, how's shiny happy people by REM?
Comment: Its important to realize that our Constitution for the U.S. says we have the right to pursue happiness. It is not something that just comes with living here. We built our whole country around the fact that we AREN'T happy and it's something you pursue on your own. Unfortunately, too many people think they are entitled to happiness and it's something you get automatically. No matter what country you're in, you can be happy. it's a personal choice, be it relgious or not, monetary-based or not, sex and drugs-based or not. Maybe a more scientific venue would be to analyze Depression and Suicide cases, as many have said previous to this comment..
Comment: True happiness is from with in yourself. If you can not find peace with yourself, then where ever you go there is unhappiness.
Comment: It just goes to prove, no matter where you are you're still there.
Comment: It goes to prove no matter where you are you're still there.
Comment: I never believe statistics such as this one. Unless researchers has been to every city in every country, and viewed a generation from conception to death, than any research about this subject is null and void. Period.
Comment: This article is not very informative for the general readers. A much better story appeared in the magazine, New Scientist, part of which appeared on BBC, and is reproduced below, which shows the extent of variation. Imagine, Nigeria, one of the poorest and most corrupt country in the world, houses the "Happiest people on Earth" !
Nigeria tops happiness survey
A new study of more than 65 countries published in the UK's New Scientist magazine suggests that the happiest people in the world live in Nigeria - and the least happy, in Romania.
The survey confirms money does not buy happiness
People in Latin America, Western Europe and North America are happier than their counterparts in Eastern Europe and Russia.
Nigeria has the highest percentage of happy people followed by Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador and Puerto Rico, while Russia, Armenia and Romania have the fewest.
But factors that make people happy may vary from one country to the next with personal success and self-expression being seen as the most important in the US, while in Japan, fulfilling the expectations of family and society is valued more highly.
The survey appears to confirm the old adage that money cannot buy happiness.
The researchers for World Values Survey described the desire for material goods as "a happiness suppressant".
They say happiness levels have remained virtually the same in industrialized countries since World War II, although incomes have risen considerably.
The exception is Denmark, where people have become more satisfied with life over the last three decades.
The study was carried out in 1999-2001 and published for the first time by New Scientist, recently.
Consumerism
Researchers believe the unchanging trend is linked to consumerism.
"New Zealand ranked 15 for overall satisfaction, the US 16th, Australia 20th and Britain 24th - although Australia beats the other three for day-to-day happiness," New Scientist says.
The survey is a worldwide investigation of socio-cultural and political change conducted about every four years by an international network of social scientists.
It includes questions about how happy people are and how satisfied they are with their lives.
The survey further states that, although such surveys are not new, they are being increasingly taken into account by policy makers. Following are the important conclusions:
HAPPINESS AROUND THE WORLD:
The happiest Countries
Nigeria
Mexico
Venezuela
El Salvador
Puerto Rico
The least happy countries
Russia
Armenia
Romania
Source: New Scientist
PATH TO HAPPINESS
Genetic propensity to happiness
Marriage
Make friends and value them
Desire less
Do someone a good turn
Have faith (religious or not)
Stop comparing your looks with others
Earn more money
Grow old gracefully
Don't worry if you're not a genius
Comment: I AM HAPPY TO BE AN AMERICAN !
Comment: whatever eric dude
Comment: however wrote the the religious paragraph, did you you ever ask god's grandkids...jesus' sons...to make you happier.... dont make everything religious. for the writer, u have no idea what life is all about. i'm happy everywhere i go..thank god. for my health, wealth and wellbeing.. so good luck genereting money by what u write.i would get in to a different business if i were you.....weiner!!!!
Comment: what a disappointing article. this is all common knowledge. a list of the happiest places would have been much more interesting. but, no big deal, i'm still happy.
Comment: A disappointing article. This is all commopn knowledge. I wanted a list of the happiest places.
Comment: The truth is,the Bible was written by man,inspired by The Holy Spirit The third God Head. The Father The Son and The Holy Spirit .In case you don't know,The Father is The Almighty, The Son is Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit is The Spirit of God Almighty ,that teaches and comforts us that are his.So we have to ask His Son Jesus to come into our Hearts and fogive our sins.francissilver
Comment: And I am inspired to go with evolution.
Comment: The real truth,is this.the Bible was written by Man,inspired by the Holy Spirit,Check it out.francissilver
Comment: Would that be the old testament or the new one? What about the torah? Or are the Jews no longer the chosen people?
Comment: When I found your article, started to read it and you made alot of sense when writing theses words, "We're so ambitious about things, including happiness, and that's ironic because in order to be happy you have to be less ambitious.". Unfortunaly throughtout the history of the world, we see the humans trying to find happyness. But the answer is very clear, we don't have to search to much, our Creator and owner, gave us the book most published in the world, the Bible. A magnificent piece of work! Inside is how to find the real happiness and real life. =)
Comment: Sorry, Your creator? (owner?) did not write or give you the bible. The bible was written by man. Your creator gave you ten rules that very few obey.
Comment: When I found your article, started to read it and you made alot of sense when writing theses words, "We're so ambitious about things, including happiness, and that's ironic because in order to be happy you have to be less ambitious.". Unfortunaly throughtout the history of the world, we see the humans trying to find happyness. But the answters is very clear, we don't have to search to much, our Creator and owner, gave us the book most published in the world, the Bible. A magnificent piece of work! Inside is how to find the real happiness and real life. =)
Comment: How ridiculous, how can one person measure happiness? If my IQ was lower, I believe, I'd be happier....there's something in stupidity. How presumptuous, that one man can believe he understands how people feel. The author of this article is a complete moron....sitting in judgement of what he can not even begin to comprehend! This is an opinion peice with no relevence. Please do not publish such an article again.
Comment: Happiness like peace is a process. The infinite possibility belies both in joy and pain, the two components necessary to my life well lived in prose...montana jane - I was born in Malaysia and left to the US at the young age of 18. It is Malaysia that has set my primary compostion of happy because people as I can recall know what simple happy is over there in my country called Malaysia. Having said that, nobody is de-void of unhappiness but we are all capable of recalling the good feeling happy represents, once we allow the sad ones to run it's course.
Comment: This is idiotic, the mere thought of happiness can only be measured by the individual. There are always winners and losers in every society. I sometimes wish my IQ allowed me to be happier, the joy of not knowing how stupid I am would be bliss. Even to have one conviction would be nice! How can one understand or even have a clue to who is happiest, this article is pure bunk. How can one rationalize that they can determine what true happiness is?
Comment: Don't worry be Happy..Life is temporary anyway..Enjoy it while you are here...and pay it forward ...In other words "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".
Make others happy . It's catchy
Comment: I think happiness is closer related to freedom of expression than to anything else.
How stuporous if you cant say what you think...
Comment: I think happiness is closeer related to freedom of expression than to anything else.
How stuporous if you cant say what you think,,,,
Comment: In studying history, there were your adventurous europeans who explored and those who thought it was a death sentance. the adventourous ones are the ones who made it here to the US and Canada, remember the vikings were in canada 500 years before columbus arrived in the US. So we come from adventurous stock that has lots of those go get 'um personality traits. My irish family came here during the potato famine and the german side came at the turn of the last century. it was still a long boat ride even if it was easier than columbus' trip. I do agree however that we americans have lost sight of some very important things in our desire to "get the american dream" like family friends and down time to just enjoy and take in life. so much so that the wonderful government wants our children at age 3 now for national preschool, gee where in history did that start? oh yeah germany and we know what they produced. not a good move for our country. we need to stop keeping up with the jones and stay home with our children and build a better nation of people so we will have future generations coming up with new ideas. public schools kill creative thinking and turns the kids into robots. lets hear it for homeschooling.
Comment: This was an interesting story to read. I wanted to read it because lately I have been feeling more"happy". I contribute this to the fact that I have decided to be the polar opposite of my nature. I have decided to tell my negative self positive things and I force positive comments to come out of my mouth. I am focusing on being solution oriented instead of settling on feeling and being defeated. It is working. I have been happier in general and am more satisfied. I write a to-do list every morning and pick my battles for the day. I tell myself at the end of the day. What is done, is done and I know I stuck to my plan and feel more satisfied with my day when it is over. I try to control the controlables and not worry about the things that are out of my hands.
Comment: Europeans are unhappy to Americans because they dislike talking to them. And working 80 hours a week does not buy you happiness. I agree that we leave community behind to pursue happiness when nothing can pick you up like dinner with friends.
Comment: Surveys like these should always be taken with a chunk of salt. I lived in the Netherlands for three years, and can tell you most assuredly that there is no way the average Dutch person is happier than the average American. In fact, one of the defining characteristics of most Europeans is their grumpy and dissatisfied demeanor, especially when compared to Americans. Peoples' faces say it all.
Comment: That's one of the reasons we named our band 'Grim Smiley', was because we don't think there is any 'coincidence' that we are so unhappy as a nation and the fact that the 'pace' of the 'rat race' is at an all time high. We aren't stopping to 'smell the roses' anymore, and it's not good for our mind, body , and spirit.
Our lyrics cover some of these issues: www.grimsmiley.com
Comment: being born and lived up to 35 years of age in western Europe, I can understand the "safety net" definition. Also Europeans regard quality and durability and do not move as much around like Americans. Therefore they invest much more in their houses or places where they live to be more comfortable and cosy. Education is ivery important there and if you don't go to college, which is virtually free (paid by taxpayers), you learn a trade. Dropping out of school is impossible and not an option. Therefore there are far less uneducated or ignorant people running around there than in America. Working in America feels like working in a Kindergarden with adults as students. Everything is designed "idiot proof" and people still mess up all the time and then they still have an excuse for everything. Nobody wants to be reposible for anything. This is very frustrating to me. Most people here do not try to do their job right the first time, they just "half ass" pretty much everything. They don't care and they seem to be very unhappy on top of that.
Comment: why don't you go back to where ever you came from.
Comment: Europeans generally stay put in the villages or towns where they were born. This can, and often does, lead to a high incidence of inbreeding and attendant genetic defects (such as were rampant in the small town in the Netherlands where I lived). Somewhat contrary to your characterization of Europeans as being so much better educated than Americans, let's not forget that there is ignorance aplenty in Europe, ranging from the archetypal peasant (who is to be found in droves throughout continental western and eastern Europe) to the working class ruffian in the U.K. Americans work much harder and get more done than Europeans. Europeans are bumps on a log. Americans are go-getters. Just try to get anything done in Europe on a Sunday -- it''s impossible. Order a meal in a European restaurant and be prepared to wait for two hours while the wait staff giggle, prance and talk to one another.
Comment: How is it that you are such an expert on Europenas? Is it because you lived in one of about 50 countries for 3 whole years? Most of what you have said does not make any sense. I was born in Ireland, lived in Greece and the Netherlands, and although they are a few morons like anywhere, the majority of people are not. You onlu have to watch American TV to know where most of the weirdo's and morons on this world live. Look at what they have done to Iraq!! They voted Bush in for a SECOND TERM!! that says it all...
Comment: Generalizing an entire population is exactly what your post is against. Don't do it to Americans. Yes, there are idiots aplenty here. But there are also geniuses. What we SHOULD do, is take away all the warning labels for a year to weed out all the idiots.
Comment: I guess they don't teach English grammer in Ireland.
Comment: inbreeding and attendant genetic defects?!
Comment: Self-reliance and personal responsibility are important attributes that distinguish Americans from most Europeans, who I found generally to be conformist and sheep-like. Mosty Europeans do not know how to fix a car or remodel their home because "that's someone else's job." I'll takje an American worker over a European worker any day of the week. We still know how to work, unlike many Europeans.
Comment: It is interesting that the pursuit of "happiness" does not make one happy. People often equate the pursuit of happiness with pursuit of education, pursuit of love, pursuit of material objects, and pursuit of power. The reason that the end game of these pursuits does not work, is that we are not living in the now, we are living in some indefinate future that will always have some new pursuit to follow after the last pursuit is fulfilled. Check out some materials by Eckart Tolle and be happy with where you are today and enjoy the process of gaining new skills.
Comment: ! I think once you understand that life is just like making a sandwich. Two pieces of bread which is a beginning and an end.do not make a sandwich but its what you put in between that makes a good sandwich and makes you happy.
Comment: Modern society precludes contentment. We are disconnected from the fruits of our labors and cut off from nature and community with others. So we drug ourselves with "entertainment" to pass the time. Evidence of this is in the lack of artistry in everyday life. How odd to be walking down the street on a beautiful day and hear the person next to you talking on his headset without awareness for where he is or who is around him.
Comment: I rate myself very happy. I listen to NPR everymorning, where I start the day listening to how unhappy I could have been if I was somewhere else at that moment. I feel blessed for everything I have around me ! I rarely compete with anyone else. I see my own progression in life and smile with pure joy!
Comment: I rate myself very happy. I listen to NPR everymorning, where I start the day listening to how unhappy I could have been if I was somewhere else at that moment. I feel blessed for everything I have around me ! I rarely compete with anyone else. I see my own progression in life and smile with pure joy!
sekarmc
Comment: Happiness is more a result of an individual personality attribute than the country you live in. Although I can clearly see the influence of the socioeconomic environment and the culture in shaping the personalities of the citizens and the level of stress they are exposed to. Research done by International Institute of Management found that happiness has more to do with the person???s point of view and emotional training than the environment. The institute published a paper titled Psychology of Happiness and Unhappiness - A case study of the mindset and behavior of happy and unhappy personalities.
This paper explores the mindset and thinking patterns (programming) of happy and unhappy people. It helps us identify some of the key characteristics of their thinking and the impact that their behavior has on their emotional well-being and their lives. The paper, also propose a simple, yet effective strategy to help people lead a happier life.
According to Med Yones, the president of the research, "By simply choosing to lead a happier lifestyle and continuously training (programming) your mind to think in positive patterns, you can improve your emotional well-being as well as the quality of your life immensely".
The complete text of the study can be found on:
http://www.lifehappiness.org/psychologyofhappiness/index.htm
This does not discount the importance of the socioeconomic environment, but when a person has more control on his/her own attitude than the environment, then one should focus on himself (or herself). There are many anecdotal evidences that people living in the same environment with almost similar conditions vary in their degree of happiness, primarily due to their attitude and point of views of life and themselves.
Comment: Finally, it is what you have "inside" rather than "outside" that make you happy. That being the case, people who go shopping to treat their unhappiness are not going to be happy. America being the largest consumer in the world, try to "buy" their happiness and we are not entirely successfull. I am not at all surprised!
Comment: Was "Weiner a foreign correspondent at National Public Radio?"...watch the repetition Newsweek web writers! (see second to last paragraph)...interesting article but I'd expect better proofing!
Comment: I have traveled extensively in Russia and the old Soviet Block (Belarus, Moldova, Ukriane, Russia) and I whole heartily agree with Mr. Weiner's comments about Moldova, but would like to extend exactly the same comments about the rest of the Soviet Bloc. It stems from mistrust, spying and sabotaging neighbors, freinds and family after years of living under brutal dictatorship going back to Lenin and Stalin. I am a metrics driven person and I believe in looking at data. "Happy" is pretty subjective, but I think that you can make an objective case for "Un-happy". I would look at suicide rates by country to determine how unhappy a people are and there is a very common thread, the top suicide rates in the world are all Soviet Bloc countries, in order: 1) Lithuania, 2) Russia, 3) Belarus, 4) Estonia, 5) Hungary, 6) Lativa, 7) Sovenia, 8) Ukraine, 9) Kazakhstand, 10) Finland. Coincidence, I think not. Having said that, I have met "happy" people in each of the countries that I have traveled to, but by and large, it felt like a very dark cloud hung over the populace. But it should be noted, Moldova is not in the top 10.
Comment: Johndoe, perhaps siracusa reacted in the same way you have, except with heart felt concern.
- Steven
Comment: Happiness Schmappiness. This article is rediculous!
Comment: Okay, the person below this comment has way too much time on their hands...Maybe they should move to Moldova( Which they probably can't find on a map) and rant there...Its a win win, we get this idiot out of the country and the Modolvan's won't understand what their saying....and this may lead to happiness in Modova, because they will be humored ny this moron!
Comment: Check your sloppy writing and typos. That would help your post's credibility. The US is full of illiterates like you nowadays. Too bad. Can YOU find it on a map, smart behind?
Comment: This is a good example of the'anger' within a lot of people which is often a reflection of their own insecurities and the realization that they have let themselves down.
Comment: Okay, the person below this comment has way too much time on their hands...Maybe they should move to Moldova( Which they probably can't find on a map) and rant there...Its a win win, we get this idiot out of the country and the Modolvan's won't understand what their saying....and this may lead to happiness in Modova, because they will be humored ny this moron!
Comment: I am quite sure that the evaluation of Moldova's "chronic unhappiness" is the most superficial bunch of bunk you could possibly come across. Why? Because it is filtered through an American's understanding of happiness, imbued with his prejudice and subjectivity - and not an objective measure of it. Those are cultures who usually get kicks out of stating that they are NOT happy, that they DO have problems, that things are hard but whatchagoona do, and of putting on a serious, preoccupied face - even if, in reality, they are doing just fine. Simply asking people there whether they are happy or looking at their faces (they purposely adopt, serious, morose faces) will not give you the authentic , real picture of what's really going on in their lives. Those people also get kicks out of gossiping about x, y, z with a, b and c; and even though they might not mind putting x,y,z, down, they do build very cosy, comfortable relationships with a,b,c - which ironically makes them feel quite happy and intimate in their auto-lamentations. I come from a country very similar in mentality with Moldova and I know for a fact, as an insider, that people there exhibit an apparent unhappiness because this is a desirable cultural trait. In truth, they are way, and I mean waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, happier than any American I've ever encountered. You will not see people there valuing smiley faces or "I've never been better!" type statements because yes, like someone else said, that is perceived as self-involvement or fake-ness - which is definitely not something appreciated in those cultures. As I have lived both in THAT KIND of country and the US and I have felt the pulse of both, I can testify without the shadow of a doubt, that there's way more zest for life, community and togetherness in those places than the lonely, self-obssessed, puritanical, narcissistic US ...where everyone smiles on the outside but they're vacuous and lonely on the inside. If only Americans had the gossiping talents of Moldavians...boy, their true happiness scores would really sky rocket. Until then, all Americans have is a show, nothing else. My own mother, when she comes here to visit - yes, from a Moldavia type country, she cannot believe how much sadness, loneliness, lack of spirit and lack of zest for life can be felt in the air. So forget about your "smart" evaluations of places like Moldavia. Look at the human fraud you have become!
Comment: Go Home!
Comment: I would say, you feel happy when you realize that life is your choice: to be happy or not. If you have a positive feelings and creative thoughts it will in return build a good habit- to be happy.
Comment: Comment: Nothing gives me more happiness than helping other people. That's why I'm a Art Teacher and wouldn't trade it for ANY JOB! I served 8 years in the Army Reserve and loved every minute of it. I love my family and my self because I love this country more than any one could understand. This is STILL THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. Shame on Raina Kelley for writing this article. Perhapes she should go live in one of those countries?
Comment: Nothing gives me more happiness than helping other people. That's why I'm a Art Teacher and wouldn't trade it for ANY JOB! I served 8 years in the Army Reserve and loved every minite of it. I love my family and my self because I love this country more than any one could undertand. This is STILL THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. Shame on Raina Kelley for writing this article. Perhapes she should go live in one of those countries?
Comment: It has taken me 70 years to discover that my greatest joy is in helping others. I have now joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the local Volunteer Fire Department, and enrolled in courses to become an EMT
I have actually begun to like myself. Is there a lesson here for others?
tmrowanusa100@msn.com
Comment: Happiness isn't about what you have, it's about what you give.
If each day you reach out and touch something and make it better than before you had touched it, you will find not only happiiness, but contentment as well.
Comment: Happiness isn't about how much you have, it's about how much can give.
Leave everything you touch, a little better than it was before you touched it. Those acts lead to both happiness and contentment!
Comment: Happiness in within yourself,,be satisfied in what you have,let God do the rest, He is in charge,,,He created this beautiful earth for us to enjoy...not making it a waste land,look around the trees ,flowers ,sky sunrise ,sunset,its His presence,reminding us of His love
Mary Altman
Comment: Happiness in within yourself,,be satisfied in what you have,let God do the rest, He is in charge,,,He created this beautiful earth for us to enjoy...not making it a waste land,look around the trees ,flowers ,sky sunrise ,sunset,its His presence,reminding us of His love
Mary Altman
Comment: "Happines is the pursuit of the meaning of life." When one has attained the meaning of life and our purpose on earth, this is when happiness has no bounds. Learn who Jehovah is, and read your bible daily and you will find the purpose of our existence, and the happy future that awaits us if we are meek hearted.
Anonymous
Comment: This is perfect rubbish. How does one quantify such an abstract quality? Journalists who write garbage like this should go to Iraq and Sudan and actually do some worthwhile reporting!
Anonymous
Comment: Enter Your Comment
Comment: "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." - Albert Camus
Comment: "You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." - Albert Camus
Comment: great idea, only about 300 cars a night are torched by the happy people in europe each day, along with the app. unemployment rate of 14 % compared to u.s. average of 4.5% in our now non admitted recession. We could all take off on friday's, and come in late and leave early and the companies we work for could start to lose money, until they all go out of business, then we could be really happy when we can wake up when we want and have 7 days off a week.
Comment: I'm happy on the weekends, though it takes me a while to unwind from work. I think the U.S. should adopt a three-day weekend. Two days is just not enough to re-group and face another work week. Also, we need to start our workdays later... 9 or 10 am. Several people may gripe about lost productivity, but people here are sleep deprived. This results in rollover accidents at 6 am, and exhaustion on the job. We need to take a tip from the Europeans.
Comment: A person that cannot rest and relax in a 2 day weekend, will not get enough rest on a 3 day week end as well. The problem is not in the no of days but is in one's own discipline.
Comment: of course there is happiness, "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" as you posted vinsin328 you do agree there is sadness therefore there must be happiness. How to obtain and mantain this happiness is the key. I agree with you that simply understanding that good and bad things are going to happen helps in this, life changes every second, good will come, bad will come, moneys here, now its not, ect... however God does not change and he is what i base my hapiness upon, he is my rock and refuge, there for wether my present situation brings me grief, or despair, wether my children are healthy or sick, ect.. I may grieve, I may cry, of course, but I remain at a state of contenment, and my happiness remains through it all, come down to texas and see me smile, everyday
Comment: What is happiness? Does something like hapiness really exit? Animals don't think about happiness. Isn't it a another product in the market to sell and make somehow profit out of it? You'll feel always more content if you can understand a situation fully and your state of being. And there are only two paths for them, one is complete ignorance and other is knowledge. Simply understanding that good and bad things are part of everybody life and it's normal to feel sad sometime can make a lot of change in someones perspective. Remember religion and ignorance may be the easiest way towards this but is the worst.
Comment: What is happiness? Does something like hapiness really exit? Animals don't think about happiness. Isn't it a another product in the market to sell and make somehow profit out of it? You'll feel always more content if you can understand a situation fully and your state of being. And there are only two paths for them, one is complete ignorance and other is knowledge. Simply understanding that good and bad things are part of everybody life and it's normal to feel sad sometime can make a lot of change in someones perspective. Remember religion and ignorance may be the easiest way towards this but is the worst.
Comment: Ooops I meant aarhumm and Lily lou too.
Comment: I agree with you Lily lou. Nice comment and so very true!
Comment: Lily Lou I agree with you wholeheartedly! Nice comment...
Comment: Lets just say i'll never be visiting Moldova.
Comment: lets just say ill never be visiting moldova.
Comment: I would think that the happiest countries are those in which its citizens worry very little about securing the basic needs of life: food, water, shelter, fuel, healthcare, education, and retirement. If the US of A was not spending trillions of dollars on Bush's War, then all these requirements could met with ease.
Comment: communist
Comment: The people who are the "happiest " (whatever that means) seem to be those who spend the least amount of time obsessing about whether they are "happy" or not. This American fixation on "happiness" is a destabilizing pathology in American the searxch for happiness is essentially selfish in nature . Our ancestors, the ones who made thius country great, had no time for the pursuit of "happiness"--and ironically in many ways may have been happier--or at least more CONTENT, a much different and much more important thing, than today's society with its neurotic fixation on being "happy."
Comment: The happiest people are generally those who spend the least time obsessing over whether they are happy or not. "Happiness" wasn't even on the radar screen for our ancestors in this country, the people who built America. They were too damned busy just getting by. Happiness is largely an illusion and a chimera for people too befuddled with a sense of entitlement to realize that happiness is much less important than comntentment, quite a different thing. The fixation on happiness is a serious American pathology.
Comment: Funny, I don't recall seeing anything written about the massive influx of people trying to enter these countries. Also, you don't miss what you have never had. Weiner's statement that you have to be less ambitios to be happy is a pile of crap. Look at the ghettos, you can't find less ambition on the face of the planet and I sure don't see smiles and hugs- do you?
Comment: Before you can discuss happiness you must make distinctions between, pleasure, joy, happiness, and fulfillment. Pleasure is sensate. Joy is mental. Happiness is an emotional state. Fulfillment is the satisfaction of knowing, like MLK, that one has fulfilled not one's goals, but one's potential.
Comment: Actually, happiness has to be found within. If you are not a happy person, you will make your friends and family miserable. It's nice to have the support of caring people around you while you find your inner happiness or as the article said, "inner child." Childlike is not the same as child-ISH (selfish tantrums.) I am a Buddhist from Cleveland, Ohio but I think even the Christians say, "The kingdom of God is within," and God is love.
Comment: I took a philosophy course that delved into happiness. We used Aristotle's definition: "Happiness is an activity proper to [humankind], in accordance with virtue, in a complete life." Without re-writing the entire course, it seems that the point Arristotle was making is that happiness is more than just a feeling, that it is encapsulated in a lifetime of good works that human beings yearn to accomplish. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we miss the mark. Aren't those who are most happy (and, as noted by others here) the people who GIVE of themselves in some capacity for the betterment of another? Isn't happiness tied up with touching and impacting "the other" instead of "the self"???
Comment: The last time I visited my country of origin, Barbados, homeland of the up and coming Rhiana, I kept checking myself as I walked along the city streets. Why, everyone seemed to be smiling? Not at me, but then I realised that was their natural expression in repose. As a boy, I used to hear tourists commenting over and over again about the smiling faces, until I dismissed those remarks as a weird foreign courtesy. Maybe its the winter, maybe its a reaction to my skin color, or in "the danger of the stranger, but in the two N.E cities I've lived in for almost twenty-five years now, I can only describe the natural expression of the strangers I meet on the street as grim. I wonder why? So I am intrigued to discover, did the researcher ever visit Barbados?
Comment: Why are you here in the USA?
Comment: happy people should never rule any governments. it's, risky... risking other lives perhaps?
Comment: International Institute of Management (IIM) released a policy white paper aptly titled ???The American Pursuit of Unhappiness - Gross National Happiness (GNH)???. The paper provides an analysis of the mental and emotional health liabilities produced by the current American socioeconomic system. It also proposes several policy reforms to help address these liabilities.
Under the root cause analysis section, the author asserts that the ???The ideologies and governments of this century that promised happiness, have left people with more material possessions, but less psychological well-being. Many of those people are emotionally bankrupt and unhappy. The demands of life in our current socioeconomic system require that we keep running and running with little or no breaks. With increasing life costs, economic demands, and social and work pressures, most people are suffering from chronic stress, pain, anxiety, fear or anger. The term "rat race" applies more today than ever. Many people eventually experience this as burnout, exhaustion and/or depression. Many Americans are feeling unhappy at home and at work.
According to Med Yones, the author of the white paper, ???Like most world governments, the U.S. Government???s main concern is economic growth: even security, health, education and foreign policies are designed to promote economic growth. Governments have metrics to monitor your money: they use metrics such as Gross National Products (GNP) and consumer confidence to monitor and track economic health. Do they use a metric to measure people???s own well-being? No.???
The author refers to Bhutan's King Jigme Wangchuck who coined the term Gross National Happiness (GNH) to emphasize the holistic values of economic development policies. The paper builds on that concept to provide recommendations that address the six main public policy areas: Government, Economics, Work, Media, Education and Environment. I wish our leaders take into consideration the proposed recommendations to increase America???s Gross National Happiness (GNH).
The complete text of the paper is available at:
http://www.iim-edu.org/grossnationalhappiness/index.htm
Comment: International Institute of Management (IIM) released a policy white paper aptly titled ???The American Pursuit of Unhappiness - Gross National Happiness (GNH) ???. The paper provides an analysis of the mental and emotional health liabilities produced by the current American socioeconomic system. It also proposes several policy reforms to help address these liabilities.
Under the root cause analysis section, the author asserts that the ???The ideologies and governments of this century that promised happiness, have left people with more material possessions, but less psychological well-being. Many of those people are emotionally bankrupt and unhappy. The demands of life in our current socioeconomic system require that we keep running and running with little or no breaks. With increasing life costs, economic demands, and social and work pressures, most people are suffering from chronic stress, pain, anxiety, fear or anger. The term "rat race" applies more today than ever. Many people eventually experience this as burnout, exhaustion and/or depression. Many Americans are feeling unhappy at home and at work.
According to Med Yones, the author of the white paper, "Like most world governments, the U.S. Government???s main concern is economic growth: even security, health, education and foreign policies are designed to promote economic growth. Governments have metrics to monitor your money: they use metrics such as Gross National Products (GNP) and consumer confidence to monitor and track economic health. Do they use a metric to measure people???s own well-being? No."
The author refers to Bhutan's King Jigme Wangchuck who coined the term Gross National Happiness (GNH) to emphasize the holistic values of economic development policies. The paper builds on that concept to provide recommendations that address six main public policy areas: Government, Economics, Work, Media, Education and Environment. I wish our leaders take into consideration the proposed recommendations to increase America???s Gross National Happiness (GNH).
The complete text of the report is available at:
http://www.iim-edu.org/grossnationalhappiness/index.htm
Comment: Come to Australia if you want to relax and be happy......................there , i've done my bit for G'day U.S.A
andy from oz
Comment: Personally, I think happiness is an internal thing. I've looked at this for many years now. For a while I thought if I only had more money, I'd be happy. I observed the wealthy for a while and discovered I was wrong. Some of the wealthiest people are the most unhappy with themselves and their lives. The poor seem to be more often than not focused on survival and wishing they were wealthy. The middle class are wishing they were wealthier too. After long searching, I come to feel that living my life from a place of integrity brings me the most happiness. I can go to sleep with a clear conscience and am not guilt-ridden. I can do this no matter how much money I have, no matter where I live or no matter what religion I belong to. I try to keep company with those who move through life with similar ethics. It works for me.
Comment: "Posted By: Cates @ 01/23/2008 11:34:13 AM
Comment: My true joy was found when I got rid of the irrational trappings and emotional baggage of religion. I would have never suspected that becoming an atheist could make one so happy. The American President Madison said it best ??? "Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded prospect."
-James Madison, letter to William Bradford, April 1, 1774"
It's funny that you mentioned that....I think back at all the religious teachings that were so forcefully fed to my brain and wonder, would I be happy with angels singing, golden pathways, pearly gates..everything mentioned in the bible as far as "heaven" is concerned is purely materialistic. Material things do not make a person happy, they make life easier and might make days happier, but its whats inside that makes people happy. Its looking at your daughter and seeing her eyes light up when she sees you (lets not forget that is she sins and goes to hell then i will not even know she existed...hmm doesnt sound like a good thing to me)
So I do agree, hell sounds better almost, warm atmosphere (well if you actually still had your body, then fire might be something to make you not want to go there, but this is supposed to be for your soul right, souls dont have skin...or do they?? you will know everything about everyone, everything, every answer you ever wanted to know...so knowledge is turned into a bad thing now ...hmm. i dont get it, and as the more I sit here and write this the more unhappy that I am getting, so yes I agree to religion making things more complicated than it should be, always making sure you are doing good, praying, whatever....that could lead to unhappiness.
As far as Americans are unhappy, well....get a job, get an education, dont ask someone to do what you yourself are responsible for for doing. When you do all of these things, you will be happy, happy that you accomplished something, and then you will share with others what you learned and the endless cycle of life will start all over...
For those religious ones: God never gives you what you cant handle.....
go figure,
Nichole
Arkansas
Comment: Hell, is exclusion from the joys of heaven. Either you found yourelf in a hellish church, (Catholic), or you are clinging to some perversion for your pleasures, not having understood the distinction between pleasure and joy, which can be found outside of religion anyway, and feel excluded or berated by their beliefs. Once you mature enought to understand that distinction you can find joy in so many human exercises that you will be able to discard the joyless pleasures that make you unhappy.
Comment: @ nowhutimsane
I think it is the direct opposite, in America time and again we are told how good life is and how much better it is if we buy or use product X. So yes people in other countries btw Africa isnt a country, do have problems but at least many of them are aware of it. Here in America we don't want to admit we have problems until they blow up in our face, take a look at the sub prime mortgage issue.
Anyway yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay America we are the greatest!
Comment: agree agree
Comment: Americans are unhappy because there are 6 foot piles of garbage on our cities' streets - oops, that's Italy;
our elections are a sham - -oops, that's Pakistan; we are starving and sick with aids, too weak to swat the flies off our baby's head - oops, that's Africa; our government determines how much and what kind of education we receive, what job we work at and where we live - oops, that was the Soviet Union; we are killing the atmosphere because we exhale carbon dioxide - oops, that's volcanoes; we are killing trees by using toilet paper - oops, trees grow on tree farms and are replanted; we are the biggest killers of our environment - oops, that's China ( all of our factories moved there for cheap labor and no anti-pollution laws)
OK, we're not happy because the media, the politicians, the movies and the music lyrics tell us we should not be!
Comment: Happiness is a relative term, and it can change at any moment. I found if I was happy at my job, with my situation at work workinghealthy.com really helped me with my situation at work especially setting up my work environment.
Comment: My true joy was found when I got rid of the irrational trappings and emotional baggage of religion. I would have never suspected that becoming an atheist could make one so happy. The American President Madison said it best ??? "Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded prospect."
-James Madison, letter to William Bradford, April 1, 1774
Comment: I???m serious flabbergasted that Malaysia and Malaysian in particular can be HAPPIER then the US of A???
Yes we are a young country, yes we are a peaceful country (I would prefer tolerant country), yes we are a booming economy however with such a stronghold by the ruling government on media companies (totally no press freedom) Malaysian are a suppressed bunch of toddlers under the age of 3 years old.
Prices of everything in Malaysia are startlingly expensive and substandard. Our own people buys and consumes 2nd grade rice, 2nd grade gasoline, 2nd grade cars while the 1st grades are use for export and sold at ???cheaper??? prices with better value.
Affirmative Action used by the government for the majority is seriously something quiet amazing that the minority still endure one way or another. Malaysia is ruled by the ruling government using racial and religious tension and fear rather then for the good of its ???Malaysian??? citizens.
The minority are 2nd class citizens in their own country (even a foreigner who embraces Malaysia main religion are treated better)and I might say that the middle class majority are not that far off as emerge a so called elite group of ??????majority??????. Sheeps and goats we are.
There are plenty of skeletons in the closet for Malaysia - unresolved, swept under the rug, close an eye and put on hold until further notice. This is the TOLERANT Malaysian way.
I consider this list bias as most probably, the conclusion and deduction is made from receiving answers mostly from the majority. I for one vote Malaysia is not that ???far off??? from Moldova politically and socially.
Economically Malaysia is growing but because of that Affirmative Action of 30% must be held by ???bumiputras??? not MALAYSIANS but bumiputras (go google Ketuanan Melayu), we might screw ourselves long-term in the near future.
Comment: "... we might screw ourselves long-term in the near future." - it's already happening! yahoo~~~!!!! LONG LIVE MALAYSIA!!!! i'm sure the parliament's enjoying that bliss, eric weiner. go read http://www.malaysia-today.net before you write your next follow-up book.
Comment: You still don't understand that happiness is to be found in one's internal responses to external stimuli, so that the material paradigms of happiness that you cite are not truly relevant to happiness, but what they point to is absence of physical misery. For example I am a 65 year old widower with chronic back pain, but am a very happy person, because I've known such joy in my personal relationships with the two women I have lost, my mother and my late wife, that it seems to have shaped my mindset forever, in the absence of more acute discomfort. So Maylasians are happy because they are content with a COMPARATIVELY lower standard of living, whilst enjoying the rewards of more interwoven close knit familial relationships than are the custom in our country. Family, make the difference.
Comment: seems like u are a happy person with very low standards in life and i do envy that. fyi i have a wonderful back with no pain and i have more needs in terms of what my country should be offering to its citizens, like, HEALTHCARE, a good example. u are a widower that enjoyed a certain phase that's very different, it's 2008... and i think being retired and being in the working force is very different too. you might be happy in your current stage of life, but may of us are not getting paid enough to keep up with the constant rise in cost of living, no thanks to corruption and irregular checks on food pricing and so on. brotherlou, i may be a skeptic, but you should understand that it's 2008. it's different. i am very happy in beijing, and i miss my family a lot and i can't wait to fly home. but i dont miss malaysia. but i do miss, what was it called, right - north borneo.
Comment: Looking for happiness is not the problem. Were looking for it in the wrong places. A lot of scientific studies have come out recently on factors that effect happiness but this article only mentions three of them and leaves out any revealing details. As for the "World Happiness Database" upon which most of this is based, it is a great idea but unfortunately plagued with great obstacles...if you ask a Japanese and American if they are satisfied with life you will get entirely different answers for cultural reasons. Americans often feel failures if they are not seen as being happy, yet East Asians feel bad if they confess to being too self satisfied, this reflects badly on their sense of interpersonal responsibility....
Comment: BTh--money makes me extremely happy
Comment: Someone has lost thier mind--a shared purpose that can be defined in 1 sentence will make all Americans happy??An ad clogan maybe? And you advise "energy independence"? Oh yeah, that''ll do it. I need no shared purpose to be happy. I don't want everyone to think like me or share my ideals, which is why I actually am happy. I live in a city I love, do what i like and have an interesting mix of friends. If only the rich were not pushing me out of my neighborhood in Brooklyn, I'd continue to be happy until I drop. Maybe you are all too needy?
Comment: sorry, to add: i'm amazed at how malaysia is even on the list. can you let us know on what means you did you based your research on? i'm a malaysian that had fleed to beijing. i'm really curious to know on how a country that has 1) identity crises 2) racial issues 3) high crime ra
