The Happiest Country on Earth
I happened to tune in to Good Morning America this week before going to work and heard a discussion on
‘The Happiest Country on Earth.’ The hosts spoke of a survey that listed countries in order of the happiness of
the people living within. Would you like to guess the number one country? I’ll give you a hint. Its residents pay an
astonishing 60+% income tax. The answer is: Denmark. Now I don’t know about you, but I whine just thinking
about my seemingly paltry-by-comparison 35% bracket. What could possibly make a people happy while giving
more than half of their yearly earnings to the government? I was intrigued. The fact is that the Danish enjoy their
existences so much simply because of the lower expectations they put on themselves. They highly enjoy their
present-moment existences and are always flexible enough to change their moment-to-moment plans if more
satisfying opportunities present themselves.
Feeling I was on to something, I did a brief internet search and found another survey on the same topic. The
University of Michigan World Values Surveys has been doing this for the past twenty years. They list countries
based on ‘Subjective Well Being (SWB).’ People are asked ‘how happy’ and ‘how satisfied’ they are with their
lives, and the answers are combined to form the SWB. On this list the top five are: Puerto Rico, Mexico,
Denmark, Colombia and Ireland. The United States came in at number 15. Isn’t it interesting? With the possible
exception of Ireland, wealth is certainly not a characteristic associated with any of these countries. For the average
American, this is an incredible juxtaposition. Happiness without money? How can this be? It seems as if there
are central common threads in the philosophies of all of these countries.
1. People enjoy their ‘present-moment’ lives. I have had the opportunities to travel to several Latino nations.
There is definitely a ‘this-is-all-you-get’ mentality in the people there. I do not mean this in a negative way, either.
There is flexibility in the daily schedule, with planned breaks. Show me an American who takes a siesta on the job and I’ll show you someone looking for a new job. People earn a living to pay for the enjoyment of being alive.
Many Americans, on the other hand, enjoy making money for the sake of making money, and all the trappings that come with it.
There is a feeling that money is the solution to all the problems both now and in the future. For me,
from the viewpoint of a primary care physician, the pursuit of the ‘golden ring’ often comes to the exclusion of ALL
other aspects of life. Waistlines grow, hearts soften, cholesterols rise and money earned is spent on early funerals,
medicines or health care provider visits. As John Lennon aptly stated, ‘Life is what happens to you while you are
making other plans’.
2. Families are number one. I know what you are thinking. Americans are very family-oriented. Just
go to any playing field on any given weekend and see at least three generations of relatives watching Johnny play
his sport. Sure, it is great to see everyone together for a common cause. But I feel this may also reflect the Baby
Boomer’s continued belief that we cannot be denied, and that all that happens in our world should pass by us for
our approval. Do we REALLY help our kids by standing on the side-lines and being irate with the ref? Is this
‘being family-oriented,’ or is is just another expression of our never-dying competitiveness? Maybe we would do
our families more good by finding our own interests, enjoying them, and putting competition on the back burner.
My wife was telling me about how today’s parents are increasingly involved in every aspect of their children’s
college application processes and even job applications. Again, are we helping raise independent thinkers who are
problem solvers, or are we just propagating another generation of our ‘alter-egos’? Happiness often comes, not with
acquisition of something, but with the process by which it is acquired. I remember my parents letting me make my
own decisions growing up. Some were beauties, too. But I learned from each one of them. Having my own
children now, I only wish my folks were around so I could thank them for the wonderful job that they did.
I do not have the answers to what is amiss in our country. I still feel it is the ‘greatest country in the
world.’ Just travel abroad and see how truly wonderful we have it here. But I do think that many Americans have
lost their way. The search for happiness has sent us down the wrong road. The pursuit of ‘things’ has left us
with many possessions, but with feelings of emptiness inside. The more empty we feel, the more we DO to try and
fix it. We make even more money, buy even bigger cars and homes, take even more expensive trips and, in the
end, the emptiness grows. It is really, REALLY, REALLY difficulty for most American to ‘just be.’ That is where
these other happier countries have it all over us. Aren’t we HUMAN BEINGS? When did we make the change
to become HUMAN DOINGS? What is really so wrong with not working on the house or the garden over the
weekend and just hanging with each other. What is wrong with reading a book after dinner? Is it really so wrong
to just enjoy our lives. All this stuff we are accumulating won’t go with us when all is said and done. Our bodies,
on the other hand, which are failing at alarming rates, will accompany us to the very end. It could make for a very
painful journey.
