Happiness Factor: Whos Happy and Why?

October 3, 2014
Phil Johnson, Ph.D.
From Copenhagen, Denmark
Global Next Research Group
www.globalnext.org
Are you happy? Would you know it if you were? How would you actually define happiness? The
founding fathers of America bothered to include the pursuit of happiness as one of the inalienable
rights of all humans. Of course, the right to pursue happiness is not necessarily a guarantee of
finding happiness.
But according to the latest World Happiness Report, a few countries seem to have managed to
discover happiness - and topping that list is Denmark. According to the report, happiness was
measured based on the level that a nation enjoyed social support, freedom to make life choices,
generosity, perceptions of corruption, life expectancy and GDP per capita. On a scale from 1 to 10,
Denmark scored a 7.693, followed closely by Norway (7.655), Switzerland (7.650), Netherlands (7.512)
and Sweden (7.480). While happiness is something that people talk about, evaluate and chase, I was
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intrigued as to how people would define it and what - if anything - they would give up to achieve it.
So, I was off to Copenhagen to find out just what it was that the Danes had discovered and to see if
they were as happy as the recent data suggested.

THE HEART OF HYGGE
One of the first Danish concepts that I heard
about was hygge The Danes will tell you that
there is no exact English translation for the
word, but generally, it means coziness. (By
the way, when people around the world tell me
that they have words, values, or concepts that
cannot be translated into English, it makes me
want to spout off English words that also are
never exactly translatable into other
languages, like entrepreneur, stuff or
Black-Friday Sales.)
Hygge is that sense of closeness, warmth and belonging that helps sustain Danes through the long
dark winters. And through difficult times. Add some good food and candles and its part of the social
support that Danes enjoy that contributes to their perception of being happy. But when I spoke to
immigrants who were trying to make a new life in Denmark, they expressed that this Danish
happiness was a bit illusive for them. Apparently finding hygge is not so easy if Denmark is your
adopted country. Sanjay, from India, has been in Denmark for more than a year. Is he happy? Not yet.
He says that its been hard to break in to society and that it took him a long time to make friends. The
friends he has made are other immigrants.
THE FREEDOM FACTOR
High on the list of factors that indicate happiness and satisfaction is the freedom to make choices. So,
it seemed like the place to check out freedom of choice was Christiania also knows as the Freetown
of Christiania - a little enclave of Copenhagen that doesnt actually believe that they are part of
Denmark - or the European Union for that matter. They are a self-proclaimed autonomous
neighborhood that started in 1971. As an anything-goes-community, they have been shut down,
reopened, raided by police and remain a source of controversy. Cannabis is openly sold and used here
and to a large degree, has been tolerated by the authorities. Sort of.
Would I find more happiness here? There seemed to be expanded freedoms in this neighborhood,
so I assumed I might find more happiness.
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The first person I spoke to was Trina. She is an artist. Painting puts her in a good mood. Smoking
marijuana puts her in a better mood. Me and my questions definitely did not put her in a good mood.
To be fair, she was busy putting together a luncheon, had paintings to attend to and her joint wasnt
going to roll itself. A nosey journalist did not add to her quality of life.
Jannik, a young shop owner told me that the
government in Denmark provides well for the
people - which meant that he could provide well
for his extracurricular activities. But recently he
realized that in addition to government support,
he would have to get a job. That did not make
him happy.
Moustafa Petersen, a 19 year-old half Moroccan
- half Danish student, told me that his definition
of happiness was a good party. And yes, he was
happy to have free education and security from
the government. But he was mostly happy for
parties.
The one thing all these residents of Christiania
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had in common was the answer to this question: Given the wealth of your country, your relative
security, your freedom of choices and opportunities - how would you most like your life to be
remembered?
The answer was always the same from this group of people: I dont need to be remembered for
anything. For them, happiness was for the moment - and lasted no longer than the day, the party or
the money in their pockets.

HAPPINESS OR SECURITY?
But Christiania is just a small slice of life in Denmark. I was sure
there were other perspectives, so I turned to my friend Simon
Christiansen, a photojournalist in Copenhagen who works for
Berlingske Media. Simon and I had both done some journalistic
work in Lebanon in the past, so I knew he had seen other parts of
the world - less secure parts of the world. I was eager to hear
what he thought about happiness.
I told Simon that the more I spoke with people in Denmark and
the more I looked into the factors that determined which countries
and which people were happy, I couldnt help but see a consistent
trend. People were ranked happier when their government
provided more security.
Does security equal happiness? Do you think thats accurate?
Personally for Danish people, life is really simple. The Danish community and the welfare is such a
good foundation for being happy - free education, good social support. But there is also a concept in
Danish culture called jante which tells us to be humble, not to promote yourself, dont try to be
better than others and to keep your expectations reasonable.
To me that sounded more like security and contentment - which are great things - but not exactly
happiness. The principle of jante might teach people contentment and a limit, but not really
happiness. What about ambition? What about risk? What about fulfillment?
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Should life have deeper meaning and fulllment?
Personal fulfillment is very important for my happiness. I try not to obsess about it, but so far, things
have gone well. I admit that it can become a bit boring if everything is working out. You don't have
anything to risk...no chances to take - things become dull.

What about religion? Does that play a role in
someones happiness?
Denmark is a Christian, secularized country. I am not
religious, but I dont exclude it. Personally, religion does
not play a role in my happiness. But I do feel that I have a
lot of faith and spirituality. God equals the universe. I like
to delve into my inner world through nature or
meditation. There is as much to be found in the inner
world as in the outer world.
What if the world changes? What if what seems
stable now becomes unstable? Where will the source
of your happiness come from when all of this security
is gone?
There would definitely be more pressure, it might make
me a bit more career minded and serious, but I think I would still keep my same values - to contribute,
to help and to volunteer.
Lars Rievers, an editor at Berlingske Media and co-worker of Simon echoes similar sentiments. He
believes that happiness can be found in friends and family. He also believes that doing work that
makes sense and matters also contributes to happiness.
When I asked Lars if he thinks that government programs and security add to happiness, he told me
not completely. He went on to explain that he has family in the United States. He said that when his
mother (in Denmark) is ill or needs care, he calls the government and tells them to take care of it. His
family in the US tells him that when their parents or family members have problems, they dont call the
government, they rely on family and friends to help. He says, There is something right about doing it
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that way - that personal commitment to taking care of our own. There might be some happiness in
that as well.
I asked Lars is he would trade security and accept risk if it added more meaning to his life?
Yes, at this point in my life - yes. But I think that people at different seasons of their life would answer
that question differently. Right now I have less to lose - so I can afford to take more risk.
Simon Christiansen agreed that deeper meaning would be worth the risk. So, how does Simon, a
single guy in his 20s, brimming with potential, want to be remembered 100 years from now?
I want to be remembered for my attitude and my presence. I want to be remembered as a person
who was very devoted and who took responsibility for the things I want, rather than complaining and
worrying about it. I want to be remembered for being optimistic.
GENETIC OPTIMISM
Ah, the Danish Optimism. There is actually a theory about that too. Researchers from the University
of Warwick evaluated information from 131 countries and found that the closer a nation was
genetically to the Danes, the happier its people were. In summary, when it comes to the gene that is
linked to low levels of life satisfaction, fewer Danes possess this version of the gene - and therefore are
not as susceptible to depression or unhappiness.
And that might end up being really important - because as most of us have figure out, the world is not
stable and security is an illusion. The pursuit of happiness may have a head start when you live in a
wealthy, stable, socially-oriented nation - but it doesnt guarantee the kind of happiness that resonates
in your soul and that exists regardless as to your circumstances or geographic location. That kind of
enduring happiness requires a life of meaning, purpose and the pursuit of fulfillment - and it is
location independent. That sort of abiding happiness often includes risk and getting out of ones
comfort zone.
True happiness, I believe, involves living for something outside yourself, bigger than yourself and it
doesnt always come with guaranteed security - or even a guaranteed successful outcome. But thats
life - and a good life doesnt just consist of an easy existence. But if you are fortunate enough to have
the advantages of wealth, security and friends - I think the world expect deeper attempts at living
bigger and experiencing deeply fulfilling happiness - not just static existence. But dont worry too
much about happiness and the state of the world - my optimistic Danish friends will tell you,
everything will work out OK. Theyre just happy like that.
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