00:00:03
What makes me happy is...
00:00:07
I think I was definitely born
happy, and then life happens.
00:00:12
I'm getting a
bit emotional here.
00:00:16
I feel very happy.
00:00:20
Very happy. I'm happier now than
when I lived in New York
00:00:25
and I got paid probably twice as
much in New York as I do
00:00:28
here. Our happiness is kind
of like quiet happiness, kind
00:00:34
of a stillness. What does
it take to be happy?
00:00:40
The Nordic countries seem to
have it all figured out.
00:00:44
Finland and Denmark have
consistently topped the United
00:00:46
Nations' most prestigious index,
the World Happiness
00:00:49
Report, in all six
areas of life satisfaction.
00:00:53
How have they
cracked the formula?
00:00:55
And, are the people they
are really the happiest?
00:01:01
The United Nations just named
the happiest place on Earth.
00:01:04
It is not Disneyworld.
00:01:06
It's Finland. In 2019, the
World Happiness Report named
00:01:10
Finland the happiest country in
the world for the second
00:01:13
year in a row. Denmark came
in second place after claiming
00:01:17
the top slot in 2013 and 2016.
00:01:20
Year after year, Nordic countries
like Norway, Iceland and
00:01:24
Sweden round out the
top of the list.
00:01:27
Enter Jeffrey Sachs, a professor
at Columbia and the
00:01:30
co-editor of the
World Happiness Report.
00:01:33
What do those countries have?
00:01:35
They have a high level of
prosperity, to be sure, but
00:01:39
they're not the richest countries
in the world by any
00:01:42
means. The idea is a
good balance of life.
00:01:45
You don't have to get super
rich to be happy, they believe.
00:01:48
In fact, if someone's super
rich, they, look, what's wrong
00:01:51
with that person? So they're
not societies that are aiming
00:01:55
for all of the effort
and time to becoming gazillionaires.
00:02:01
They're looking for a good balance
of life and the results
00:02:06
are extremely positive.
00:02:08
The annual happiness ranking began
in 2012, but we can
00:02:12
trace measuring happiness
back to 1971.
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It came in the inspiration of
the country of Bhutan, a
00:02:20
country in the Himalayas that
many people know for its
00:02:25
innovation of attempting to
measure gross national
00:02:29
happiness. Globally, a standard
for measuring success and
00:02:33
productivity is gross
national product.
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Bhutan had the bright idea
of trying to measure happiness.
00:02:40
Measuring happiness is a
fairly complicated business.
00:02:43
First of all, we need
to understand what happiness means.
00:02:47
It means the satisfaction with the
way one's life is going.
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It's not primarily a measure
of whether one laughed or
00:02:54
smiled yesterday, but how one
feels about the course of
00:02:58
one's life. Meet Meik Wiking,
happiness researcher and CEO
00:03:04
of the Happiness Research
Institute in Denmark.
00:03:07
There is a lot of
factors that impact happiness, everything
00:03:10
from biology to income levels to
the city they live in.
00:03:15
But I think the best predictor
we see in the data of
00:03:18
whether people are happy or
not is whether they're
00:03:20
satisfied or happy
with their relationships.
00:03:23
So, do we have somebody we can
rely on in times of need?
00:03:26
Do we have somebody we can
share our hopes and worries
00:03:29
with? These six categories help
account for the differences
00:03:33
in life satisfaction
around the world.
00:03:36
GDP per capita, healthy life
expectancy, freedom to make
00:03:40
life choices, social support,
generosity, and absence of
00:03:45
corruption. On average, richer
countries are happier.
00:03:48
On average, richer
people are happier.
00:03:50
But, once we get to a
certain level of income, an
00:03:53
additional $100 a month is not
going to impact how people
00:03:57
feel about their lives. So,
with money, like with
00:04:00
everything else, we see
diminishing marginal return.
00:04:04
And I don't know why I'm
bringing up this quote, because
00:04:06
it's extremely corny, but there is
a Kanye West song in
00:04:10
which he says that, "Having
money is not everything.
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Not having it is." And I do
think that's true in the sense
00:04:16
that when you don't have it,
it's all you worry about.
00:04:19
And when you do have money,
you can actually worry about
00:04:21
other stuff. Happiness also seems
like this elusive thing.
00:04:27
We have two words
for happiness in Danish.
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So we have "lykke," which
is the elusive thing.
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The thing you experience
once every blue moon.
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And then we have to be "glad,"
like the word glad, which is
00:04:41
different because it's more down to
Earth and you can be
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glad despite the fact that
it's not anything special, it's
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no special day.
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Lykke seems like this elusive
thing that you can't quite
00:04:51
chase. To be glad is
more like our mindset.
00:04:54
So I feel more like I choose
to be glad at times rather
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than sort of trying to
chase happiness because that seems
00:05:02
like it's never going
to happen that way.
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Maria lives in Helsinki with
her husband, Duke, and her
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2-year-old son, Luka.
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Woah! Wow! Ah, hi! Yeah! There
it is. There it is, you
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little monster.
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Finland is the best
place to have kids.
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When you go give
birth, it's almost free.
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We stayed in the hospital three
full days as a family.
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We had our own family room
and we got like meals and
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support and help
and everything.
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And the bill was about
€300 in the end.
00:05:44
It's basically like living
in a hotel.
00:05:46
In Finland, new mothers receive
a free baby box jam-packed
00:05:50
with 63 items to help
with the baby's first year.
00:05:53
You don't have to buy anything
for the first two, three
00:05:56
months. Of course, diapers and
stuff like that, but
00:05:58
basically. And also, you can
actually put your baby to
00:06:02
sleep in that box.
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Our baby actually, Luka slept in
the box for the first
00:06:06
month. Finland, along with
the other Nordic countries,
00:06:09
offers generous
parental leave.
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Anu Partanen, author of "The
Nordic Theory of Everything,"
00:06:16
spent 10 years as a
journalist in the U.S.
00:06:18
before returning to her
home country, Finland.
00:06:21
She's also a mother. In Finland,
you get 10 months of paid
00:06:26
parental leave, out of which about
four months is set aside
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for the mother and you start it
before the baby is born and
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then father can
keep nine weeks.
00:06:35
Typically, both parents stay home
for the first three
00:06:38
weeks. They share the rest of
the time until the baby is
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nine months old.
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A parent can even stay home until
the child is 3 years old
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and keep his or her job.
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However, the stipend
is much smaller.
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Another determinant of well-being
is one's sense of
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personal freedom to make
important life choices.
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Can you shape your life
the way you want?
00:07:01
Christina was unhappy at her job
in advertising and took an
00:07:04
eight-month break. Social security
is also something I
00:07:08
think is very important.
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What I did didn't make me happy
and it didn't let me have
00:07:14
that work-life balance that we
cherish so much here.
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And so we have a system that
made it possible for me to
00:07:21
quit my job and have some
thinking time and figure out, you
00:07:26
know, what's my next
step in life.
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Christina received about $2,000 a
month from the Danish
00:07:31
government while she
was unemployed.
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She is now in school
to become a painter.
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Her tuition is covered and
she receives an educational
00:07:39
stipend of about
$1,000 a month.
00:07:43
Two of the biggest perks of
life in Denmark and Finland are
00:07:46
free education and
free health care.
00:07:50
Income taxes are not at all
as high in the Nordic countries
00:07:52
that Americans tend to think.
00:07:54
However, overall, it is completely
true that the Nordic
00:07:57
countries collect more taxes in
general than the United
00:08:00
States does. In Finland and
the Nordic countries, there are
00:08:04
higher taxes on consumption, like
eating in restaurants and
00:08:07
buying jeans. But the thing that
I think a lot of Americans
00:08:11
forget is that the Nordic people
are happy to pay those
00:08:14
taxes because they get
services in return.
00:08:17
Day care, great
public education.
00:08:20
It includes your
college tuition, free.
00:08:23
It includes healthcare, all of
those are included in your
00:08:26
taxes. When the news hit
that Finland is the happiest
00:08:31
country in the world, I think
most people kind of reacted
00:08:35
to it, like, what
are they talking about?
00:08:37
We don't think of ourselves as
very happy because it's dark
00:08:40
and gloomy in the
winter and whatever.
00:08:43
It's easier for Finns and
Danes to shape their lives
00:08:46
because the government supports so
many of their basic
00:08:49
needs. The American dream is
probably more alive in
00:08:53
Denmark. The perception of freedom
is probably also a
00:08:56
little bit different. It seems
like in the U.S.
00:08:59
the feeling is you have to
be protected from the government
00:09:01
and you have to have
freedom from the government.
00:09:03
I think in Denmark the
sense is that the government
00:09:07
protects you. People
trust other people.
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You leave a bag in a
restaurant in Finland, you're pretty
00:09:11
sure you're going to make it
back and the money is still
00:09:13
there. People even leave babies
parked in strollers outside
00:09:16
coffee shops while
they run errands.
00:09:19
And I think partly the
Nordic society cultivates that trust
00:09:23
simply by providing basic
services for everyone.
00:09:26
So there's much less poverty,
much less feeling of
00:09:30
injustice, inequality, crime.
00:09:33
People get the
education they need.
00:09:34
They can have a
job. They can work.
00:09:36
They don't have to struggle
in life as much.
00:09:40
There isn't super wealth and
there's absolutely no super
00:09:44
poverty. Everybody
participates.
00:09:47
It turns out it leads to a
wonderful kind of life and one
00:09:52
that is expressed, year after
year, as making these
00:09:57
countries the happiest countries
in the world.
00:10:00
Monica and Alex are expats
who live in Copenhagen with
00:10:03
their two teenagers.
00:10:05
Alex is originally from the
UK and Monica is originally
00:10:08
from New York.
00:10:11
What else do you need?
00:10:14
The olive oil, and
then the balsamic vinegar.
00:10:16
Where's the bowl? We originally
came here expecting to stay
00:10:21
only three years, but it was
so good, we've been here nine
00:10:23
now. It's also safe.
00:10:25
And this comes back to
the community and the trust.
00:10:28
We can let our kids go out and
we do not have to sit here
00:10:31
being really worried that, are
they going to come back?
00:10:34
Are they safe
where they're going?
00:10:35
Do we have to go pick them up?
00:10:37
You still worry, of course,
but it's just very different.
00:10:41
There's still this very strong
sense of family, friends,
00:10:44
community. Balance is the
formula for happiness.
00:10:49
Aristotle had it right when
he launched the study of
00:10:54
happiness 2,300 years ago.
00:10:58
According to Aristotle's Golden
Mean, good behavior lies
00:11:01
between two vices,
excess and deficiency.
00:11:05
People who pursue only money and
say, "I'll be happier the
00:11:10
richer I am," turn out
to be less happy.
00:11:14
I do think having nice surroundings
is a part of happiness.
00:11:17
But I also think it needs
to be linked with something that
00:11:20
sort of resonates with you
on a deeper level.
00:11:23
Having nice surroundings and having
a lot of money and
00:11:26
being in a five-star hotel in
Las Vegas doesn't make you
00:11:29
happy at all. So I think
it needs to have that balance.
00:11:33
Cue the classic
Nordic work-life balance.
00:11:36
Rich Perusi, former New Yorker,
has been living in
00:11:39
Copenhagen for seven years.
00:11:41
People stay pretty tight to
a 9 to 5 workday.
00:11:44
But I do think that we get
as much done in a short period
00:11:48
of time here as we were
doing in longer times working in
00:11:52
New York. One of the comments
we actually heard when we
00:11:54
first came here was a Dane
saying, when she saw someone
00:11:57
working late, "Are they doing
it because they can't get
00:11:59
their work done? Is there
something wrong with them?"
00:12:01
Versus, "Are they just trying
to get ahead in working?"
00:12:04
There is a sense that, yes,
work's important and you need
00:12:08
to get your work done to a
high quality, but you also need
00:12:11
to make sure
it's balanced appropriately.
00:12:14
Saara Alhopuro is a diplomat
who has shaped her work
00:12:17
schedule to make time
for her passion.
00:12:20
So, I actually need to go
to my physical workplace only
00:12:24
three days a week.
00:12:26
So then the rest of the time
I can spend here in the middle
00:12:30
of nature. When I walk in
the forest, I walk there very
00:12:38
quietly, paying attention to all
the small details and all
00:12:43
the colors. Very slowly, and I
try to spot all the small,
00:12:48
small details. And I completely
lose the track of time.
00:12:54
Usually, I spend about five
to six hours picking mushrooms.
00:13:07
People don't make as much money
in the Nordic countries as
00:13:09
they do in the U.S.
00:13:12
So, it's not really about
how much you make.
00:13:13
You don't have to make as much
to get the same quality of
00:13:17
life as you would
in the United States.
00:13:20
So, if we look at
the dimension called life satisfaction,
00:13:25
we can see that that money
does matter for well-being and
00:13:28
happiness. But I mean, on
average, richer countries are
00:13:31
happier. On average, richer
people are happier.
00:13:34
But, the mechanism here is being
without money is a cause
00:13:37
of unhappiness. Not everyone likes
to talk about money
00:13:40
either. In Finland, it's been this
kind of rule that you
00:13:44
don't talk about money that much,
at least like my parents
00:13:47
basically wouldn't tell me how
much they made, for example,
00:13:50
if I would ask as a kid.
00:13:51
It would be considered bragging if
you would tell about how
00:13:54
much you make, etc. People
are happier when they are
00:13:59
generous and when they feel
that the society that they're
00:14:04
in is a generous society.
00:14:06
And then we find people want
to live in places with decent
00:14:11
government. If government is
corrupt, if leaders are
00:14:16
bizarre or autocratic or corrupt,
the society is unhappy.
00:14:22
In 2019, Finland elected
the world's youngest-serving prime
00:14:26
minister, 34 year
old Sanna Marin.
00:14:33
Danes are among the happiest
people in the world, but
00:14:36
they're not necessarily
the friendliest.
00:14:38
Lars AP, author of "F***ing
Flink" and founder of the
00:14:41
movement of the same name,
wants to change that.
00:14:44
So F***ing Flink is
a national movement.
00:14:47
Our prime goal is to take
Danes that are among the happiest
00:14:52
people in the world, but
also being the friendliest people
00:14:55
in the world. Why
are we doing this?
00:14:56
Well, because friendliness and
positive human interaction
00:14:59
means so much to us.
Science shows us that.
00:15:01
And so we're trying to do
that in all sectors, in all
00:15:05
realms that we can think of.
00:15:07
Finland and Denmark both have
populations of less than 6
00:15:10
million people. The U.S.
00:15:12
has over 330 million people.
00:15:16
The Nordic countries are
pretty homogeneous, too.
00:15:19
Do population size and
diversity affect happiness?
00:15:24
A lot of countries
with relatively homogeneous populations,
00:15:28
similarities among people ethnically
or in terms of
00:15:32
religion and so on,
are not very happy.
00:15:35
So it's no guarantee.
00:15:37
And on the other hand, it's
possible to have a lot of
00:15:40
diversity and more happiness.
00:15:44
Our northern neighbor in the
United States, Canada, ranks
00:15:46
higher. Yeah, I think Finland is
probably one of the most
00:15:53
homogenous countries
in Europe.
00:15:55
Still, we have recently had
quite a lot of immigration.
00:15:59
But I would say that
still it is fairly homogenous.
00:16:05
I think it's funny because I
kind of always, I guess,
00:16:09
assumed that Danish society
was kind of diverse.
00:16:14
But then we went to see
Dave Chappelle's show here in
00:16:17
Copenhagen and both him and the guy
who he had with him as
00:16:22
support kind of opened their
show saying, "Denmark is so
00:16:26
white." And I never really
thought about that before.
00:16:29
But then, ever since that show,
I just think about it all
00:16:33
the time. We've been having
immigration for hundreds of
00:16:37
years from all over Europe.
00:16:39
I mean, in the 70s, we had
a lot of people from Turkey
00:16:42
coming up, from from Vietnam.
00:16:44
And we had people from
Yugoslavia in the 90s.
00:16:48
And Denmark has remained
happy throughout that period.
00:16:53
The 2018 World Happiness
Report explores happiness among
00:16:57
natives and immigrants.
00:17:00
It shows that when immigrants
are happy, the countries are,
00:17:02
too. But if the country
is already happy, new immigrants
00:17:06
will experience
increased happiness.
00:17:09
It shouldn't undermine happiness
in the Nordic countries
00:17:13
that there are influx
of people born abroad.
00:17:17
There's also a dark
side to happiness.
00:17:20
Like in Denmark, one of the
biggest epidemics right now is
00:17:24
stress and people being sick
with stress and having to
00:17:28
leave their jobs.
00:17:30
And people outside of Denmark
didn't really understand what
00:17:35
that meant, like, "What do
you mean stress leave?"
00:17:38
But it might be that
expectation to have a work-life
00:17:42
balance here that
stresses people out.
00:17:44
That you both have to work, but
you also have to take care
00:17:47
of your family. You also have
to be social with your
00:17:49
friends. You also have to,
you know, do this
00:17:52
self-realization thing, hobbies
and traveling.
00:17:55
And there's so much you have to
do in the same amount of
00:17:59
hours, whereas maybe in New York
or other places, you know
00:18:03
that you're going to work to
10 every day so you don't
00:18:05
expect to have the
same balance, you know?
00:18:09
It can be hard for outsiders
to break into the Nordic
00:18:11
cultures. The Danes have such
tight-knit friend and family
00:18:17
groups. It's not very natural
for them to just include
00:18:20
people, new people
into their groups.
00:18:23
It is a little harder to come
in from the outside to sort
00:18:27
of become part of that group.
00:18:28
We've had some great Danish friends,
some met at work, but
00:18:33
it is harder, I think, from
that on that side, compared to
00:18:36
the UK and the U.S.
in terms of developing friendships.
00:18:39
There can be serious side
effects to maintaining high
00:18:42
levels of happiness.
00:18:44
Within the states, if you look
at the level of life
00:18:47
satisfaction, the higher the
life satisfaction actually
00:18:51
also the slightly higher the
level of suicide rates.
00:18:54
And the theory here is that
it might be more difficult to
00:18:59
be unhappy in an otherwise
happy society because it creates
00:19:02
a stronger contrast to how you
are feeling if you are
00:19:05
surrounded by very
happy people.
00:19:08
So Denmark actually used to
have really high suicide rates.
00:19:11
So in 1980, we had suicide
rates of around 40 per 100,000,
00:19:18
which was I think some of
the highest in the world.
00:19:21
Now, fortunately, it's around 25%
of that, so it's around
00:19:25
10 per 100,000.
00:19:28
South Korea and Lithuania have
some of the highest suicide
00:19:31
rates in the OECD as of 2017.
00:19:34
So fortunately, suicide rates have
been reduced a lot in
00:19:37
Denmark. And also in Finland,
there's also been a great
00:19:41
reduction over the
past two decades.
00:19:43
But still, it's not zero.
00:19:45
So we still need to
reduce that even further.
00:19:50
Despite mental health challenges, a
big part of Finnish
00:19:53
culture focuses on
overall well-being.
00:19:55
Sauna is a sacred
thing for Finns.
00:19:58
I have like so many good
memories about having these sauna
00:20:01
moments with my family.
00:20:04
Sauna is something that I suppose
you kind of have to like
00:20:10
and love as a Finn.
00:20:13
As of 2018, there were 5.5
00:20:15
million people living in
Finland and around 2.3
00:20:19
million saunas.
00:20:20
My grandmother always used to tell
us kids that we can't
00:20:24
fight in the sauna because then
we would risk angering the
00:20:28
sauna elf. And there's even even
a sauna in the government
00:20:33
of Finland, where they say that
they make some of the most
00:20:37
important political compromises
because you're culturally
00:20:41
not allowed to fight
in the sauna.
00:20:45
Danes have mastered the art
of comfort and coziness through
00:20:48
hygge. I think the best short
definition of what hygge is
00:20:54
the art of creating
a nice atmosphere.
00:20:56
And of course, that is
something that happens everywhere.
00:20:59
But what is uniquely Danish is
we have a word that
00:21:03
describes that situation.
00:21:04
You can curl up in a couch
and read a good book and have
00:21:07
good music on and just be
in a hyggekrog, it actually means
00:21:11
a hygge corner of your room.
00:21:13
There's a social component to hygge
which I think is really
00:21:16
important. Hygge seeps everywhere
throughout the country,
00:21:19
from cozy drinks
to warm lighting.
00:21:21
So one concrete manifestation of
hygge is the focus on
00:21:27
lighting. The rule of thumb is
the warmer, the light, the
00:21:30
more hyggelig the lights.
00:21:31
So Danes love candles.
00:21:35
So how does hygge
contribute to happiness?
00:21:37
So happiness is both having a
strong sense of purpose in
00:21:40
life. It's also experiencing moments
of pleasure on a daily
00:21:43
basis. It's also feeling
satisfied with life overall.
00:21:47
So, hygge, is this element in
our daily lives where we
00:21:51
experience comfort and pleasure
and togetherness and
00:21:54
hopefully over time that accumulates
also to a higher sense
00:21:59
of life satisfaction.
00:22:06
Another way Denmark and
Finland support their citizens?
00:22:09
Paid annual vacation.
00:22:12
So in all Nordic countries, everybody
has a right to paid
00:22:15
annual vacation. It varies a
little by country, but in
00:22:18
Finland, for example, it's typically,
after you work one
00:22:21
year for the same employer, it's
four weeks in the summer
00:22:23
and one week in the
winter and everybody gets this.
00:22:27
I actually heard a statistic.
00:22:28
It's something like, when Americans
go home after work
00:22:31
October 27, you guys have worked
as much as Danes will work
00:22:35
for the entire year.
00:22:37
But I actually think that taking
a little more time off
00:22:39
also makes you a
lot more productive.
00:22:42
In Finland, it's traditional to
spend the summer in a
00:22:45
summer cottage or mökki.
00:22:47
We did have a summer house
was when I was little.
00:22:51
It was something that my
grandfather built himself during
00:22:56
the 60s I think.
00:22:58
And we used to go ther like
all the time when I was small.
00:23:02
A week doesn't go past during
the summer when I'm not
00:23:07
thinking like, "Oh, I wish
we still had it."
00:23:10
Traditionally, the mökkis
wouldn't have necessarily
00:23:13
electricity or running water.
00:23:16
And usually, most mökkis come with
a lake or the Baltic
00:23:21
Sea. You can go to your sauna
and have a dip in the water.
00:23:25
So in a Nordic country,
the vacation time also serves
00:23:29
families that if the parents
stagger their vacations a bit,
00:23:31
they can handle much easier
the summer vacations for their
00:23:34
children. And of course, then
the family can spend time
00:23:36
together. Maybe Finnish happiness is
more like inside, you
00:23:41
know. It's like inner peace,
or something like that.
00:23:44
It's not so open.
00:23:46
It's like balance.
00:23:48
It's more balanced, I think.
00:23:50
So, ready!
00:23:54
Ultimately, happiness
is relative.
00:23:57
If you think you are having
more sex than your neighbor,
00:24:01
then you're happier. We
are social beings.
00:24:03
We compare ourselves
to each other.
00:24:04
So there are social comparisons in
salary in terms of the
00:24:08
houses and how successful we believe
we are, but also in
00:24:13
terms of sex. So what's one
small way we can be happier
00:24:18
today? For me, something that I've
done which has made me
00:24:24
happier is exercise.
00:24:26
I think the saying no, or being
a tiny bit more selfish can
00:24:32
make you happy. One step to
improve your sense of happiness
00:24:36
is go first.
00:24:38
You're walking down the street,
someone else comes walking
00:24:40
towards you. It might
be just a smile.
00:24:42
It might be just looking the
other person in the eye,
00:24:45
whatever it is. But go first
with that, because you can't
00:24:47
expect that the other person
is gonna do it.
00:24:49
Don't be reactive, go first.
00:24:52
In Denmark, we sometimes talk
about the ABC for mental
00:24:55
health. If you want to boost
your mood, three sort of
00:24:58
universal tips is doing
something active, doing something
00:25:02
together with other people
and doing something meaningful.
00:25:05
So, gather a group of
friends, go for a walk.
00:25:08
That could be something that
could boost your mood.
00:25:11
Predicting the future on
this is very difficult,
00:25:15
unfortunately. Where will
the U.S.
00:25:17
be? It could be
even worse than now.
00:25:20
It could be much
better than now.
00:25:22
It's a matter of actually
making choices for a better
00:25:28
direction for the country and one
that is not guided by
00:25:31
fear and hate, but one that
is guided by a sense of
00:25:36
community and the common good.
