A United Nations report into happiness around the world has just been released. Predictably, the top ten countries included five Nordic countries, with Finland coming in first. Perhaps more surprisingly, a few middle income countries made the top ten, such as Costa Rica and Mexico. The U.N. cited close family ties and good social networks as important factors for these countries’ high ranking.
Britain and Japan didn’t make the top ten. So maybe we need some advice on how to be happy.
1
“Folks are usually about as happy as they
make their minds up to be.”
Abraham Lincoln
This is a typical politician’s excuse. The education system is in a mess? You can’t find a job?: Don’t worry, be happy! (And don’t blame us.)
2
“Happiness in intelligent people is the
rarest thing I know.”
Ernest Hemingway
Maybe we shouldn’t improve the education
system then. Perhaps it is better not to
have any understanding of all the ways the world is going wrong.
3
“Happiness is not something ready
made. It comes from your own actions.”
The Dalai Lama
Abraham Lincoln just wants you to decide to
be happy. The Dalai Lama actually wants
you to put some work in. No wonder I’m
not as happy as I might be. I’m too lazy
to meditate every day.
4
“Man only likes to count his troubles: he
doesn’t calculate his happiness.”
Fyodor Dostoevsky
I didn’t see Russia anywhere near the top
of the list. Maybe reading too much
Dostoevsky and Tolstoy has warped the Russian mind.
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