As a response to the World’s Happiness Day, a very interesting class discussion, and several comments on the posts below, I decided to craft this space surrounding happiness. It certainly is a strange measurement. What makes you happy? Ok, there are some easy stuff, mint and chocolate chip ice-cream, flowers, hugs, dogs, heart emojis in the cell phone’s screen, the list could go on and on. Finding the glimpses of daily happiness is quite easy. What I find more challenging is looking for the long-term motivation of the impact you want to have with your life. (A question I’m trying to figure out).
The World Happiness Report of 2019 has just been released, and it has some key findings towards happiness –and the lack of it-.
Happiness and Community
The first chapter of 2019 report gives a consistent follow up from one of 2018’s key finding: Satisfying relationships make you happy. And, who knows more about close, warm relationships than Latinos? The overall level of Happiness from Latin American countries didn’t seem proportional to some really bad scores achieved in 2018 in variables such as income, income distribution, income poverty rates, transparency, crime, violence, education, and health. The answer was that Latin American happiness was heavily based on social connections. It was one of the most relevant findings from 2018’s report.
This year, the happiness score has evolved as a potential predictor of political acceptance. The highest value that drives the regional score is “Satisfaction with personal relationships”, while “Citizen security” stands remarkably as the lowest value.
From the World Happiness Report 2019
Happiness and Security
As mentioned in the post “First World Problems”, there are some vital elements of security needed to start thinking about personal achievement and development. Never the Less, it looks like a safe environment is not the only measure of life’s satisfaction. Since 2012, life satisfaction for American adolescents and adults had gradually marked lower rates even when crime and unemployment have decreased. This phenomenon is known as “The Easterlin Paradox”, which “Suggests that there is no link between a society’s economic development and its average level of happiness.” (Stevenson and Wolfers, 2008). The 2019 World Happiness Report suggests there might be a relation between the increasing use of digital platforms and the decreasing amount of face to face interactions that trigger the lack of happiness. Even so, this theory can’t be concluded as causation at this stage of the research.
Personal Happiness
While the Easterlin Paradox and lifestyle goes through thorough research, and Latin Americans continue their quest for joy in an uncertain environment, we can conclude that rewarding social interactions can help us maintain a happier life through the ups and downs of life itself. Deliberately give yourself time to build rewarding social bonds, and Why not? Go for some ice cream in the way!
Mientras no me falte
Tu beso en las mañanas y un café
Todo estará bien.Y si se cae la bolsa
O el smog nos pone a todos a toser
Todo estará bien. […]Mi universo esta aquí adentro
Donde vives tu y por suerte
Vivo yo
-Todo estará bien, Ricardo Arjona
Guatemalan singer and songwriter
References:
Rojas, M. (2018). Happiness in Latin America Has Social Foundations. March 26, 2019, de The World Happiness Report Sitio web: https://s3.amazonaws.com/happiness-report/2018/CH6-WHR-lr.pdf
Twenge, J. (2019). The Sad State of Happiness in the United States and the Role of Digital Media. March 26, 2019, from The World Happiness Report https://s3.amazonaws.com/happiness-report/2019/WHR19_Ch5.pdf
Stevenson, B. and Wolfers J. (August 2008). Economic Growth and Subjective Well-being: Reassessing the Easterlin Paradox. National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 14282. March 26, 2019, The National Bureau of Economic Research.https://www.nber.org/papers/w14282.pdf
(My best attempt of) Traduction of the song:
“Everything will be alright”
As long as I have your morning kiss and a coffee,
Everything will be alright.
Even if the stock falls, and the smog makes us all cough,
Everything will be alright. […]
(Because) My universe is here inside, where you live, and fortunately enough, so do I.
Ana! This is such an interesting topic- what even is happiness??!!
I loved that you spoke about the political climate here as well, and spiced in your own journey to finding happiness and meaning.
I think many of us are looking for our passion and our life calling- but it is hard to figure out for sure. As we are in sustainability class, happiness is similar to sustainability because it is a long term commitment as well. We can have fleeting moments of happiness, such as eating that ice cream cone, or going to a party. Along the same vein, we can have fleeting moments of sustainability when we sign up for a beach walk clean up or donate to a charity.
But, to find true happiness and true sustainability, it is something that needs to be practiced and fundamentally incorporated to our everyday routines to truly be impactful.