I’ve read a lot about what you should be doing on this day to promote happiness. So I thought I’d look at how many people are happy. In a survey on 64 % of the world where stats were available; 14 % of those surveyed said they were very happy and 50% said they were generally happy.
I’m sure if a complete worldwide survey was done both these numbers above would drop substantially. I assume this because the ranking of adult happiness per country in those that participated puts Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Israel, New Zealand and Canada, as the happiest. The next tier includes India, UK and USA.
Maybe this raises questions about how the surveys were conducted but they say 64 % of the world somehow participated.
What also comes out of the survey is what makes people happy. Love, well-being, health, relationships, family and purpose.
Other surveys state that good sleep, good company, exercise, being positive and doing something special daily promote happiness. Excessive news following is a downer for many. I didn’t see wealth or financial sustainability on the list but perhaps people don’t want to be tagged. Wealth brings happiness.
The Whinging Pome Random Rule No. 274:
“You only live once, saving too much for the rainy day is like waiting for the killer storm.”
So, all the ideas of what you should be doing on this special day of happiness, e.g. be kind, be patient, be grateful, give more gratitude and make someone happy, in my mind are humbug. Unless by doing something on this special day can change your lifestyle for the better going forward. We are who we are; how many of us can be doing new things on this one day that will change our lives?
The Whinging Pome Random Rule No. 275:
“Surround yourself with active and positive people, life’s too short.”
The Whinging Pome random Rule No. 276:
“Do something different/ special every day”
I start most of my days at home looking out of the window at the waterfront whilst standing on my wobbler (a shaking platform that vibrates when you stand on it.) for ten minutes pre my walk. On many days I get an incredible display of eagles to blackbirds playing in the thermals, I see the many walkers /runners on the green, the odd down and out looking for something on the pavement to brighten his day. I then recall the lines;
“Every morning in Africa the lion wakes up knowing it must be faster than the slowest antelope or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or the antelope, when the sun comes up, you’d best be running”