Finland And the Boston Celtics have almost nothing in common in more than one thing: the ability to win big, eight years in a row.
For the Celtics, it was eight consecutive NBA championships from 1959 to 1966, a feat to reproduce. For Finland, he has been at the top of the world’s paintings for the past eight years. The latter could be considered a more important achievement at such uncertain moments, but the mystery of Finland’s happiness escapes many, including the Finns themselves.
The World Happiness Report is an annual report published by the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup and the United Nations.
“People were going to the investigation and were trying to understand what is wrong with the investigation,” said Frank Martela, a philosopher and professor.
Martela, who published this year “Stop Chasing Happiness: a Pessimist’s Guide to a Good Life”, believes that the Finns were skeptical because of the way happiness is measured.
“I suppose that as a key reason is what they really measure in this report on the happiness of the world,” said Martela.
The report classifies the happiness of a nation according to a question: on a scale from zero to 10, at what distance is your life in the best possible life?
“What is a different question from, you know, have you experienced joy today, or have you smiled or laughing today?” Said Martela.
Significant happiness, in the case of Finnish, really comes down to contentment, which raises the question, why are the Finns so contained?
“The type of society we were able to take care of citizens relatively well,” said Martela.
Oodi, the Helsinki central library, is an example. The library is defined as a “living place” offering traditional library services, video game spaces, digital studio spaces, 3D printing services and more, all free and accessible to the public.
“The idea is to ensure that everyone has the possibility of doing this kind of thing, no matter how much money you have yourself,” said Martela.
But higher taxes that stimulate a socialist society are worth it for Finns.
“There are more idea of society here, I think, people accept that if you pay taxes, then you get something in return,” said Tim Bird, who immigrated to Finland from the United Kingdom over 40 years ago.
Bird was also fascinated by the proximity he was outside in Finland.
“This is one of the big things about Helsinki, you are never too far from the natural environment,” he said.
Another possible explanation of the country’s happiness could be the relationship of its citizens with temperature. Finland has more saunas per person than the United States has passenger cars.
Carita Harju, co-author of “The Power of Hot and Cold”, explained that she uses the sauna every day for health benefits as much as mental advantages. After heating, she dives in the cold Baltic Sea. Quick temperature changes release endorphins, but for Harju, it is relaxation.
Which brings back what happiness really means for the Finns and why the country dominates the graphics of the happiness of the world for almost a decade.
“I suppose, as if we were given this unique life to live, and it would be quite sad if you were only doing external pressures to do things that others want,” said Martela, “like living someone else’s dream instead of our own dream.”
