I just finished reading The Little Book of Lykke: Secrets of the World’s Happiest People
The Happiness Research Institute
The fact that there is a place called the Happiness Research Institute makes me happy. And they are not the only think tank looking at world happiness levels. There is also a World Happiness Report produced by the United Nations. The U.N. also founded the International Day of Happiness that I wrote about here. The Happiness Research Institute was founded in 2013. If you want to know more about the institute, check out their website here or check out their Facebook page here. Both are great places to find happiness insight and inspiration. You might also want to check out their previous publication The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living
The Happiness Research Institute studies happiness is several ways. The first question in studying happiness is “How do you measure happiness?” It seems so subjective. After all, different things make different people happy. Right? Some of the other questions the institute looks are are: “Why are some people happier than others?” and, most importantly to me, “What can we do to improve happiness levels around the world?”
The Little Book of Lykke begins to answer these questions, although I’m sure the Happiness Research Institute is still doing studies and making improvements. So far, happiness research has found six measurable factors that affect happiness levels that cross countries and cultures. This means that if it increases happiness levels in Mumbai, it will also increase happiness in New York. And if it decreases happiness in Malibu, it will also decrease happiness in Moscow. Wouldn’t you like to know what these factors are?
Six Factors That Impact Happiness
Togetherness –
The book describes togetherness as having a sense of community. This is something that is increasingly lacking in our modern world. But it is important to our happiness to create a sense of belonging in our lives. The book relates a story about neighbors on a cul-de-sac in Australia who came together to share talents and time. They created a smaller, friendlier community than the large city they lived in and improved their quality of life and levels of happiness.. One heading in this section of the book is “It takes a village to raise happiness.” People who have friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues with whom they regularly associate are healthier and happier than those who do not. Having someone you can rely on is important to your level of happiness. Anyone who has ever felt lonely can tell you that.
Money-
I know, I know. Money can’t buy happiness. It’s true, to a point. Wiking writes: “If money and happiness were to describe their relationship on Facebook, it would read: ‘It’s complicated.'” The happiness research suggests that money is necessary for happiness, but only to a certain level. In fact, it is probably more accurate to say that the lack of money causes unhappiness, but having money doesn’t mean you will be happy. Interestingly, the more we have of something, the less happiness we get from it. One piece of pie is great, but eating the whole pie is not. Finding $5 in your pocket when you’re broke creates much more happiness than finding $5 in your pocket when you’re a millionaire.
Health-
Wiking points out that across all countries and cultures, one thing parents all want for their children is good health. Without good health, it is much harder to enjoy the good things life brings your way. All the money in the world only helps so much if you’re are sickly. There are several studies showing that a sense of mental well being increases our physical health. In fact, people with a positive outlook tend to have lower levels of inflammation, heart disease, and are even less likely to catch a cold than those with a negative outlook. The reverse is also true. People who struggle with chronic illnesses are at greater risk of depression. Happiness and good health go hand in hand.
Freedom-
Having the freedom to make choices for ourselves is essential to our happiness. According to the 2012 World Happiness Report, “No people can be truly happy if they do not feel that they are choosing the course of their own life.” This might seem obvious when we compare countries like Denmark, Switzerland, and Finland which rank high on the Human Freedom Index and the World Happiness Report to the country with the lowest freedom ranking, Iran. Countries with fewer personal freedoms consistently rank lower in overall happiness.
Wiking also points out that people living in countries with lots of personal freedom are lacking freedom in another area. We are lacking in free time. And this can lower our levels of happiness. Some reasons for the lack of time include: parenthood (don’t get me started), long work hours, and commuting. Countries that rate high on the Human Freedom Index and where their citizens have a larger amount of free time, rank higher in happiness overall.
Trust-
Confession time, I live in a country that scores fairly low on the trust scale. People in Denmark express a high level of trust in others (89% say people are trustworthy). Only 49% of Americans say the same thing. I find that sad. That’s probably one of the reasons why it lowers our happiness rankings. It’s sad to feel our fellow citizens are not trustworthy. Lack of trust breeds fear, suspicion, and disdain for others. You don’t have to go any further than the evening news or your favorite social media platform to see the high level of distrust in the United States today.
Our perceptions of trustworthiness are only part of the equation though. And that’s where things start looking up. Wiking looks at a lost wallet experiment that was conducted in 32 cities around the world. In each city, 12 wallets were dropped with local currency, family photos, and identification inside. In Denmark (happiness capital, remember?), all the wallets were returned intact. But the worldwide average was 50% returned. New York City scored 67%, above the average and not as bad as one might expect. We can do better. We need to do better because it’s our happiness on the line.
Kindness-
To me, kindness and happiness go together like peanut butter and jelly or Fred and Ginger. Wiking’s book tells me I’m not wrong. The World Happiness Report 2012 asserts that a society cannot be happy without a high degree of altruism among its members. Altruism is concern for the welfare of others. Studies have shown that doing good for others lights up the same part of our brain that food and sex does. We are wired to feel good when we do something nice for other people. I explained more benefits of kindness last summer in my post “Have Courage and Be Kind: Why Kindness Matters.” The short version is: being kind helps both the giver and receiver. In fact, the giver of kindness may benefit even more then the recipient.
The Little Book of Lykke – Get It!
Wow, that’s a lot of happy information in one little book. And I’ve only shared the basics. In my next post, I will share some of my favorite suggestions or “happiness tips” found in this book. I highly recommend reading The Little Book of Lykke for yourself. And if you’d like to help social scientists with their happiness research, check out Mappiness. It’s an app that checks happiness levels in comparison to where the individual using the app is physically during the day. Social scientists use the app to collect data for their studies.
Stay tuned for another good read from My Cup of Cocoa. In the meantime, please share your thoughts in the comment section below and use the social media share buttons. Remember, sharing is caring!
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Some more reading on happiness:
