Have you seen any studies that have shown who is the happiest? Maybe you’ve read an article about the happiest state, small town, occupation, number of children, marital status. These, of course, are fun to read and maybe hold some truth. Do we inherit a “happiness gene” or “happiness tendency”? Can we find happiness by where we live?
Recently, my cousin Alan sent me a YouTube link about a study that has been repeated every year since 2012, ranking the happiest people in the world, based on GDP, education, corruption, and more. It might surprise you to know that Scandinavian people are among the happiest in the world. While Sweden ranks #7 when one looks at the top 10, 5 of top 10 are Scandinavian countries. And the United States is nowhere to be seen.
Our Linns, Olofsons, Lundblads, Carlsons and more have been in the United States for almost 2 centuries, so how much “happiness” we inherit from our ancestors’ time in Sweden is questionable. However, when I watched the YouTube video, I saw a couple of cultural happiness traits that I saw in my Swedish grandparents. I wonder if you do, too.
Being happy is probably a complex issue, one that I'm not prepared to discuss with any authority. But happiness probably includes many factors including the general attitude of the people, the weather and geography, religion, the influence of the government, and more, many of which we see in the YouTube.
The video also made me wonder about other characteristics I may have inherited, not because I’m Swedish or Bohemian, but because of the qualities that were passed down from parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. Hard work? Honesty? Musical ability? Impatience? Alcoholism? Frugality? Independence? Worry-free? Responsibility?
And while I didn’t think of it when I visited Sweden, now that I reflect on my three trips there, I do see much of what is shown in the YouTube is in the Swedish culture that I witnessed.
Here's the link to the video, about 25 minutes long if you speed past the ads.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e6oAQlTd67k&feature=share
I thank Alan for sharing this thought-provoking video. I wonder what your ideas are about traits or characteristics you may have inherited through our Swedish culture or upbringing. I look forward to your comments.
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