Finland's Keys to Happiness
Don’t compare, enjoy nature, don’t break trust. Sounds simple. It’s not.
Finland was ranked the happiest country in the world for the 5th year straight. One psychologist from Finland helped explain why he believed this was so. It was based on those three principles: don’t compare, enjoy nature, don’t break trust.
Comparison
Comparison is the thief of joy. I believe that quote was attributed to Theodore Roosevelt and Dr Ray Cummings. Comparison does a few things. Primarily, it distracts you from who you are and who God made you to be. Believing that you must be something you are not is the equivalent to believing that God made a mistake. He didn’t. Comparing yourself to someone else distracts you from what’s true and robs you of experiencing any joy about that truth.
Another problem with comparing is that we’re usually comparing the knowledge of our best and worst to only their best. No one puts up their worst on social media. No one shows you what they look like when they first wake up and comments about how bad their breath is. You only get a “perfect” version of the totality of who that person is. That’s a false representation of reality. If you knew as much about the person that you’re envious of as you do yourself, you wouldn’t be so envious of them.
One last disbenefit is comparing your own achievements to others. This is equally troubling, maybe more so. You have gained success and you want to make sure everyone knows it. You flaunt the bling out loud. The problem is, when you no longer have that success, or you realize it doesn’t provide eternal joy, the smile goes away. One way to achieve true happiness is to be humble in your fortune/blessing.
Enjoy Nature
Enjoying nature is simple. It’s usually quiet. It’s amazing to look at something and think a creator put it all together. The same creator that made nature made you. It’s humbling. Sometimes it’s breathtaking. Enjoying nature helps you put things in perspective.
Don’t Break Trust
Trust is something that is given until broken. The longer it isn’t broken, the more it is given. My favorite definition of integrity is: Doing the right thing when no one is watching and no one will find out. Be the person that is so trustworthy that everyone knows they can depend on you. Be the reason people smile. Keep your word. If you find money, do the right thing. And know that one day you will be wishing someone else does the same for you.
The more we find these things in our society, the happier we become. In America, it’s worth stating the obvious 4th thing to do to be happy, limit your social media intake. It’s designed to exacerbate the fire of whatever angers you. It’s designed to give you only one perspective: yours. You learn nothing that way. Get off of it and look around. People are way nicer in-person than on social media.
Stay Classy GP!
Grainger