Secrets of The World Happiness Index
The World Happiness Index is an annual report that measures a country’s happiness and compares them with others.
Since 2012, the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland and Norway, have stayed at the top of the Happiness List. They owe their success to the Danish lifestyle called “Hygee” (pro. ‘hoo-ga’), the philosophy of feeling cosy and appreciating the simple things in life.
However, research shows that positivity cultures can have the opposite effect; the social pressure to be happy can lead to poor well-being when we can’t live up to those cultural expectations.
Professor Brock Bastian is a social psychologist at the University of Melbourne. He spoke to 2SER about how happiness is defined and what we can do to improve our personal happiness levels.
