Being Happy Matters

        Sad news from Time Magazine captured in this headline:
                                               “Happiness in the U.S.: A new low”
        As dispiriting as that is, let’s remember that achieving happiness in your life is not rocket science. It can be a course of action.
    Have a look at Finland. My soon-to-be-released book “Being Happy Matters” (beinghappymatters.life) reveals Finland at the top of Gallup’s World Happiness List – for the 7th year in a row.
        Why?
       The answer can be found in the fact that Finland’s society has developed what they call an infrastructure of happiness. Happiness matters. And they make a point of finding it in the economy, healthcare, education, human rights, democratic governance and a culture of volunteerism.
        Things seem to work well in Finland. There are low levels of crime, there’s trust of the government, public transport is reliable and there is a free and independent media.
       ​Do you have a hobby? Well, Finns do and they find hobbies offering a way for people to enrich their lives and be happy doing so. They’re also a society that views and supports parents and families: the significance that Finnish people attach to Mother’s Day and Father’s Day goes beyond the days themselves.
       ​Finland is small, consistent and wealthy. Several years ago, a research paper even suggested that Finns are genetically bound to be happier.
       Now, this may be good news for Finns, but citizens in the U.S. do not have much to celebrate. For the first time in the 12 year history of the World Happiness Report, the U.S. failed to show in the top 20 of the world’s happiest countries. Look at the decline: of the more than 140 countries surveyed, the U.S. ranked 19 in 2021, 16 in 2022, 15 in 2023. But this year, the country has dropped to a position of 23.
           What's behind that?
       Well, it appears that the U.S. is showing a significant decline in well-being for people under the age of 30. But beyond that, despair appears to be a core public health problem. Despair has been increasing in the U. S. and the self-rated health of Americans is taking a downward turn. Even life expectancy is slowing relative to other nations.
       Faced with these facts, it’s not unusual for people to “throw in the towel’. But I’ve learned over the years of interviewing happy people that being happy is a choice. In fact, the people I profile in "Being Happy Matters" actually showed me how they’ve  chosen to be happy... and how they keep that spirit alive.
       They know, as do I, that being happy does indeed matter.