How they find the "happiest" country on Earth

[@Howtown]

Our 40-minute convo on happiness is up on our Patreon. In it we discuss a new study that tested different variations of the ladder question www.patreon.com/posts/howtown-hall-8-112312114

[@Mystcret]

As a Finn, I can tell people in Finland have always been surprised by our ranking in happiness contest. I think the ranking has a bit misleading name because people tend to think "samba carnival and fireworks" type happiness. Finnish happiness is "grey, but still quite cozy". When I think about happiness of any country, I imagine the poorest kid in that country and ask "can they have quite nice life? (education, job, support etc. despite of their family finance)". If you are "doomed" to be struggling your entire life because of your parents, it's hard to be happy.

[@i--luv--the--universe]

Your life depends entirely on the decisions you make, not because of your parents.

[@janemiettinen5176]

Maybe we are the most content? Im sure one part of it is the culture of not worshipping money and eternally needing more and better things. And safety, of course.

[@janemiettinen5176]

@@i--luv--the--universe If your parents cant feed you adequately or send you to school, it’s not about your choices. You cant choose to not be poor. Weird thing to say..

[@pauli2951]

@@i--luv--the--universe So if your father is a violent alcoholic and decides to beat you to death at age 5 it doesn't affect your life at all?

[@i--luv--the--universe]

@@janemiettinen5176 what about those who grew up without parents? The decisions your parents and other people in your life make also affect you to some extent.

[@mikkoimmonen]

Another Finn here. For me one part of happiness is being able to do what ever you want in your life regardless of your background. The social hierarchy is low here and government helps you with the financial burdens whatever you decide to do in your life. You can become a janitor or get a masters degree relatively easily. And because of this people don't judge you too much on what you do in your life but rather treat you more often based on your actual characteristics as a person.

[@wiiza4ever]

I lived in Finland on and off for a few years and even as a foreign student or a "tourist" it was easier for me to get access to mental health, affordable healthy meals, reliable public transportation, free toilets and clean water, etc (aka, basic human needs and not so basic amenities that make life a lot better) than it is living in my home country of Canada. I do want to point out that racism towards Rroma and Sami people in Finland isn't far from the racism towards indigenous people in Canada, but there is much less racism overall in Finland.

[@Jppnametaken]

@@wiiza4ever I have never noticed any racism against Sami people (I'm talking about personal level racism here, I do know there is cultural/state level racism as in some things not necessarily befitting their culture are forced upon them even though they are good people who respect others and not forcing those things would not cause any harm to the rest of the population) and the racism against "Rroma" (I'm guessing you mean gypsies) is totally their own doing as so many of them do not follow the laws or respect the culture of others. Why should we respect them if they don't respect others.

[@sirkana]

@@wiiza4ever Gypsies wouldn't be disliked if they weren't constanyly stealing, I have multiple times personally seen one walk into a store fill a bag and walk out.

[@davidyang6074]

Hi, I read a theory saying that nordic countries rank high because the word "happiness" refers to slightly different things in the nordic languages than other ones, do you think this theory makes sense?

[@FlameQwert]

@@Jppnametaken how easy the ugly face of anti-ziganism breaks through the paper-thin progressivism of europeans at the mere mention of roma people

[@kylieross3179]

Ahhh, ANSWERS IN PROGRESS... Unexpected crossover!

[@DasGanon]

"Hang on, they're all Canadian"

[@sfllaw]

Taha is actually British.

[@DasGanon]

@@sfllaw * "Hang on, they're 2 Canadians with a Brit"

[@DanikaLeighEllis]

I love the moment at 14:39 when they both react to Taha saying that getting to spend time with people who understand you is one of the greatest joys in life.

[@spideycraft7007]

IKR!! I'M FREAKING OUT! OMG!!

[@Draconicrose]

Taha's answer at the end there is so freaking true. Interacting with people who really get you is the difference between belonging and loneliness.

[@sfllaw]

Melissa’s and Sabrina’s reactions were so good!

[@TheKalkalash]

I think for both the life satisfaction and positive affect, you can see a clear cultural trend. For positive affect, many of the countries have a hispanic culture, which tends to have stronger family ties and social interactions. And for life satisfaction it is all the Nordic countries, that all have an inate aspect of "contentness" with life. I think the problem with measuring happiness is that the concept of happiness is very cultural. In Finnish culture for example, there isn't even a word for happy or happiness in the same encompassing meaning that English has. When we say we are happy (for example "I'm happy to meet you" or "this all makes me very happy"), we would use the word "iloinen", which means "glad". But if we talk about happiness, we would use the words "onni" and "onnellisuus", which mean "luck" and "luckiness" respectively. Kind of like in English you could say "I feel very lucky to be where I am in life". That is what happiness is to a Finnish person, being grateful at how things have gone in life. So mainly happiness is a lack of bad things happening. This is why when asked "Are you happy?", Finns generally say no. We associate the question with the "American style" happiness; smiling, laughing and being joyous all the time. The question is more "Do you have the emotion of gladness right now?" rather than "Are you okay with your life on a long term perspective?", which to us is happines.

[@h3ct0r13]

Thank you for your comment that was really interesting!!

[@matthewb3113]

Ya all my Finnish friends roll their eyes, especially as November approaches. We need to remember Happiness means Well-Being. Finland has succeeded because the culture is very focused on developing the best operated education, healthcare, police, and other social systems along with a strong opportunity for individuals to achieve capitalistic goals. Hence the dedication to building a strong balance between socialistic and capitalistic systems is key to Finland's success.

[@wiiza4ever]

I'm truly impressed by the Finnish gouvernment's ability to regulate capitalism. Especially the rates-to-income tickets. It's a shame other countries don't follow suit, and we have to deal with rich people just being able to pay themselves out of following laws. Especially when it comes to dangerous driving or overuse of natural resources.

[@KNYD]

@@wiiza4ever well there have been made cuts to financial support for students forcing students to either take out loans or work while they study. It is also made possible for parents to pay out their children's student loans without any tax repercussion which clearly favours the wealthy. There's also been cuts to pensions. The VAT was just raised from 24% to 25,5% meaning everyday items have become more expensive. At the same time for instance tax cuts for using private health care have been increased, again favouring the wealthy.

[@slow_runner]

@@KNYD "...forcing students to either take out loans or work while they study." *Hyperventilates in American*

[@fipix6143]

​@@slow_runnerYea, we are way further when it comes to these things than countries like the usa :D But still such cuts to social security that are happening right now still have bad long term impacts. We do not want to become more usa-like. You have such insane amount of problems that we have minimized due to our system, but youre just used to them. We are not and we wouldnt like to be either. Some effects of previous (~2015) cuts to social services and education are now showing and its not nice. mental health crisis especially among young people is horrible. There are also more violence and education level in primary school has dropped, not to mention cuts to vocational schools. Our public healthcase system is also struggling a ton which puts our citizens in very unequal grounds when it comes to healthcare. Sure, more equal than the usa, but this is a very worrying direction.

[@sirkana]

Well here's hoping our next gov can cancell all of current "govs" actions, seeing as they are traitors.

[@jxun4l3ht10]

I would say my (Finnish) happiness comes from; trust, freedom, security and equality

[@petegromov9037]

And Money. Lots of money. Finland is quite a bad place for unemployed, the poor and the handicapped. And the current far Right wing government driving for UK style Austerity does not help.

[@Ruinwyn]

The correlation between GDP and happiness shouldn't be ignored or considered giving redundant information. It is precisely the outliers that should be focused on. Money doesn't bring happiness, but it does remove many sources of unhappiness. There is a point of diminishing returns and that should be focused on. The moments of happiness measured in the other study aren't insignificant, but also clearly don't measure anything useful regarding policies or how to develop a society.

[@Kernel_m]

These are my thoughts exactly, just much more eloquently put. It isn't really surprising that countries with higher GDP have more opportunity and resources to create social wellbeing (or happiness). The other metric is much less useful from a policy making standpoint and it feels like it measures culture more than the success of a country.

[@Idefilms]

Wow, HT gang... I don’t think I've seen anything quite like those 'participant response' sequences before. They were so moving!! The way they were framed, the way they were cut into the story, the choice of music and the choice to use the phone audio-and, of course, what the people had to say!-it was all just really, _really_ beautiful. I'm loving the channel and the care you put into it ❤

[@DasGanon]

6:18 Just saying that when he says "Close relationships" and the person he's with puts her hand on him caringly, it was very sweet.

[@Denit.]

Even funnier when he says "now I feel like a 7" right after

[@Southseapirate]

As a person from Iceland I had no idea that we were in third place, no surprise that Finnland was in first. All the Finns I have talked too see to be very grounded people and have a great sense humor that we Icelanders really love. I do agree that one of the biggest things contributing in the happiness index is the closeness and trust the countries have for its people. Its all connections all they way.

[@Spectacurl]

10:43 Iceland is the only one in both lists. Do you think that Iceland is a country that in general is very happy?

[@Southseapirate]

@@Spectacurl Instead of thinking in general Iceland is happy I think of it in general most Icelanders are not unhappy. Being fairly content really helps the average score.

[@pohjanvanamo]

We do have a sense of humour 😅 Now I would like to meet an Islander and have a lovely chat, based on what you said 😋😉

[@Sienisota]

As a Finn, knowing I will be safe and never at risk of homelessness, medical debt or unpaid student loans, gives me safety. Knowing Finns truly can become whatever we want no matter the circumstances we grow up in, makes me happy.

[@rmhbernoff]

This has me thinking about how much finally having a smidgen of disposable income has made it easier for me to have/keep social connections. I live in the U.S. somewhere that doesn't have a lot of physically or financially accessible "third spaces". It became much easier to spend time with friends and make new ones when I could afford things like a car to get around, eating out (even at, like, a Panera!), and spending money on things like classes and activities where I could meet new people with shared interests.

[@TSNam]

Happiness is getting a notification for a Howtown video 🤗

[@mbuccella-00]

THIS

[@Astra3yt]

14:00: "And in all of these 87 years, what have you learned about what makes a happy life?" "People." I don't honestly like admitting it but that is such a powerful and true response.

[@JoonHee]

Joss: What’s your happiness? Me spirals into existential crisis. End of video: Happiness is being with people you love and care. Me: All is well again.

[@prayagsuthar9856]

Some people yap a lot about "you should be more grateful", but maybe the reason it's hard to think about what makes us happy, is because we don't _need_ to think about what's making us happy? Maybe, during happy times, we _are_ happy but we don't need to _consciously_ think about how we're happy. Maybe happiness is _not_ about expecting to feel anything outrageous, but just realizing that you simply feel okay most of the time.

[@pyroMaximilian]

Can we all take a moment to admire Joss's fashion style? ... Okay, with that out of the way, I'm happiest when I'm learning new things. Your videos always help me climb a rung or two higher on the Cantril ladder. Thank you.

[@anb2456]

can we also admire her beauty?! What I love is that she seems very chill with her beauty, not really trying too hard. Effortless beauty

[@tech_otaku_who_wants_peace]

This Channel is soo Underrated.🔥🔥🔥 ✨Nice editing btw.

[@Infinitesimal-ho7it]

I'd say I'm at a 3 on the ladder (recently up from a 2). I've recently learned that I am autistic. Had I known, and those that might've supported me, I think I would be much further up the ladder. I think the thing I have lacked is support for who I am (I've always been pushed to make money). I think the lack of support in my formative years (and beyond) has been the biggest detriment. I've only recently understood this. Before, all i knew is that there was this amorphous "life sucks, there has got to be more to it than this" kind of feeling. Now I've got people trying to stack the deck against me for the past 10+ years, trying to keep me isolated and keeping me from making my own life. They are sick people making me sick. I keep fighting on.

[@mikrokupu]

I think content is a better word here or should we say Finland and the Nordic countries generally are the least unhappy :) A relatively content Finn here. The older I get, the more I appreciate the Finnish way of life, the healthy work-life balance, easy access to nature, a clean environment. And the mutual trust that still exists here, more or less. Finland is a paradise for introverts, you're not expected fluent small talk, there's a high tolerance for silence and your personal space is sacred.

[@Howtown]

"Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to ten at the top. Suppose we say that the top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. If the top step is 10 and the bottom step is 0, on which step of the ladder do you feel you personally stand at the present time?"

[@rehaansh618]

0

[@tableryu7557]

​@@rehaansh618sending hugs with consent

[@rayok_zed]

7

[@jrgatess]

7

[@harshSharmaaji]

5

[@mbuccella-00]

Amazing production on this video. Joss, I love how you shot the phone interviews with ppl on the street. I know how much work that must have been and it pays off in the experience of watching the video. Really well done.

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

Can’t really compare these numbers to different countries with different culture and languages- but a very useful tool to see the direction a country is taking. If a country is increasing their score over time, that’s a strong indicator people are indeed becoming happier. It if country Alpha scores better than Beta, it’s probably a much weaker indicator than comparing the increase/ decrease of a country’s score

[@Howtown]

in our source doc, there's a link to the appendix of the 2024 WHR report and it contains time plots for each country - check it out!

[@XODEZ]

Joss is one of those people that make learning new things and geeking about other things fun

[@jangapardhu5300]

Definitely the positive affect measure. I don't think I'm constantly comparing my potential with my current situation as that's a long term thing. The positive affect measures how people feel in their day to day life and that has a lot more significance to me.

[@Nahkapaska]

It's also complicating that Finnish people never answer a gallup with 10/10, no matter what the question is. And when thinking about smiling, it really doesn't tell that people are happier. For example when people were pondering what is the difference between Finland and Sweden and why Sweden isn't no 1, the swedes smile more. Smiling can be superficial.

[@potero1944]

Greetings from Finland! When I answer this question, I am not thinking about money or other peoples expectations at all! ❤️🇫🇮

[@jmlouie]

10:42 tells me Iceland is truely the happiest place on earth

[@marcamorello2803]

I think that there should be an addition to this study showcasing levels of public transit accessibility and it’s correlation with happiness. My theory is society organized around public transit in a denser setting leads to more random encounters that can be taken advantage of in life and also fosters community interaction and closer proximity to support networks.

[@snowyowlets]

Happiness and satisfaction are related, but not the same. People experience an array of emotions, including happiness. Satisfaction seems deeper, more at the core of one's being. I recently visited Finland, and I was impressed at how clean towns and cities looked, how relaxed people seemed, how beautiful even cityscapes were. Natural beauty is clearly important, and I enjoyed my walks through greenspaces in different cities and towns. Rural homes looked as sturdy and well-kept as urban ones. I think I would be very happy living there. I'm pretty satisfied with my life, even though I have up days and down days. Friends keep me grounded. These may be human, but not always. Connection to the natural world is a great source of life satisfaction. Joss, I've loved your stories from Vox, and I look forward to seeing more great content here.

[@hermesjuan]

Paraguay appeared on number 4 on the positive affect score and being a Paraguayan myself I can tell that the human connection here is quite central in our culture. Weekends are mandatory family gathering, you keep childhood friends close for decades (not too rarely all of your life), you make new friends at pretty much any age. There's so much bad things going on here but at least we have each other to go through with it. Loving your videos btw, showing the poll as a call was brilliant.

[@potloodgum]

Love the long lens phone interview setup, such a creative way to get this footage it feels like iam spying on peoples lives. This channel is excellent.

[@QuintusAntonious]

I like how the second set of questions is more of a measure of growth, interpersonal security, and satisfaction rather than simply joy. I feel that in richer nations, we tend to put a lot of time into the pursuit of joy and pleasure, which can actually lead to places that are less happy from the second metric. Building robust social networks like in the Central and South American nations requires a great deal of sacrifice in ways that don't necessarily bring joy, pleasure, or money, but lead to lives that are more satisfactory to the individual in the long term.

[@georgiacinq-mars1899]

I just found your channel. So well done, thank you!

[@earlgreydugong]

Not me tearing up near the end. Excellent video guys!

[@sundawg911]

amazing video but Joss's fashion sense is always fire.

[@smitinathan]

Excellent video! I was talking with a friend about this the other day, and we were wondering how these rankings work and what's being asked. Thanks for covering this!

[@ville6211]

I'm Finnish, not living in Helsinki, Tampere or Turku. Most people I know dislike living in Finland, dislike the unsocial and emotionally cold culture. Three of my friends have killed themselves by the of age 25. But for those who don't care about the social boredom, find the equality, safety and peace to be awesome.

[@tomato1656]

Joss please never change your glasses ,you make them cool and that enhances my experience watching these videos.

[@jasonlampa]

I wish I would've been phone interviewed by the poll, it would have helped me reflect on my life so honestly :) this was a thought provoking video. thank you!

[@MertSerim]

OMG Congrats on your support from imi and sloan foundation!

[@c.i.demann3069]

this is incredibly interesting. well done, team.

[@johndouglas8532]

Thank you! Been saying this for years. Is just ranking how content you are and certain of future.

[@piraivarman]

No matter where you go, It is always the people who make the place special

[@BombOmbBuddy]

Man I love this show so freaking much. Patiently waiting to buy merch so I can obnoxiously tell everyone who asks about Joss, Adam, and their awesome work : )

[@ijchua]

Apart from the main content, I love the selection of background music (at least, those I could identify)! Here are the tracks as far as I could make them out: 1. 0:00 (unknown) 2. 0:45 Strauss's The Blue Danube 3. 2:15 (unknown) 4. 4:54 Strauss's The Blue Danube 5. 6:06 Vivaldi's Summer 6. 9:10 Beethoven's Für Elise 7. 12:12 (unknown) 8. 13:38 (unknown)

[@andykerwi]

Congrats on getting support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation!! Very deserving! Keep up the outstanding work guys! Now i go into hibernation until the next video lol

[@grilodonilo621]

I think the second set of questions ressonates more with my definition of happiness. However, my reply would be very different if it was for instance "in the past week" rather than "yesterday". I had a very interesting, full and enjoyable day on Sunday, but yesterday I was just kind of coming down from that, and I was also sleepy and tired, so my reply would be significantly different if I replied today or yesterday

[@cherianthoppiljoshua3338]

Well, that video made me sad as a single man that lives alone

[@Howtown]

If you were designing a happiness ranking - how would you measure happiness?

[@victornonexistant4010]

Food!

[@etiennelebard4899]

With a measuring tape, from the scrotum?

[@ropro9817]

Yeah, but maybe these countries that rank at the top just have low expectations that are easily satisfied. 😂

[@JokinIsCool]

​@@victornonexistant4010no

[@rahko_i]

I would measure it by how well the poorest people are doing. Because now that I start to think about it (as a Finn, for disclaimer), it's not really about how happy you can be at your best, or even on average, but how happy you are on your lowest point. Like, even if I was rich and had everything I needed in life, I would still rather live in Finland than in, say, the USA, even though USA would probably provide me much more cool things for the money I hypothetically had. But I couldn't turn my head away from the homeless people starving and dying on the streets while the richest person flies to Mars for the sake of some childish pipedreams. And I couldn't bare the fear that one mishap, one sickness, or any other random event could take me from my job and make homeless, as well. In other words, I measure happiness -- or I would rather call it well-being -- through access to basic necessities, such as food, shelter, social connections, safety networks, and even things like internet, education, and the possibility to improve yourself. And on top of basic necessities we should measure the levels of freedom, trust (in other people as well as the government and state institutions), lack of discrimination, and social and political equality alike.

[@Miksu__]

I think a part of the reason the "happiness question" is worded how it is, is because it doesn't use any charged or specific vocabulary that could mean slightly different things after being translated to different languages

[@tunneller]

Beautiful conclusion, great video!

[@nicksamek12]

Not the worst ad read I’ve been subjected to. Well done.

[@satumattinen715]

One of the many Finns here, ive heard many people say that; Finland is the happiest country yet were just here drinking coffee. Which i guess means they doubt that Finland is really the happiest country. Like my brother said; well, if Finland is the happiest country people must be really depressed out there in other places. Personally, im just happy Finland is at the top of some ranking atleast, since Finland is ranked about 50 in the strongest countries ranking list. Im happy to know that Finland will be known as the happiest country by others and might just say i agree with it being so.

[@Kmod67]

Yet another Finn here. Very widely travelled, and the personal freedom that I experience is not something I really find elsewhere. I manage to live a very comfortable life while only working 3 days per week in a nice and safe area with 5 minute walk to the closest beach and even less for other outdoor activities. I would also say that people here want everyone to do well.

[@Jppnametaken]

Interesting video, also I'm glad I found your channel this early, if what you are saying in your welcome video is true then this is exactly the kind of channel we need more of.

[@idavid8391]

Two amazing channels collab!

[@TZI_Melbourne]

I come from a country where people bond over common hate grounds, yet there's plenty of laughter and support to one another.

[@snarpis]

I don't know if somebody gonna see it but I would like to have some opinions on my way of defining happiness. This video made me question my happiness. I find happiness in calmness mostly. I prefer to be alone. I still like spending time with my family and friends but I feel more content when alone. But everybody is saying that happiness is family, people. Is true happiness something inherent to the human kind ? Do most people say and feel that true happiness is people because we have evolved to live in a community ? Most people, and more importantly most elderly people say that happiness is being with the people you love. Am I missing something by always wanting to be alone ? Am I... wasting my life ? Do I believe that I'm happier alone now, only to realize later in life that I should've spent more time with my relatives ? This is really scary. But I still feel happier alone, even though I love my friends and family. I'm pretty lost with this

[@davidmichelson671]

A discussion of Manfred Max-Neef would be interesting here. He was an economist who wanted to evaluate the success of an economy not by whether it produced a high GDP but by how effective it was at meeting fundamental human needs, which he created a taxonomy of in order to make those evaluations.

[@merlinthewizard]

As Buddha once said: "Chop the ladder" 😄

[@Masaim6]

In my opinion a perfect measure of happiness would be both of these 2 measures combined.

[@kristacaasi9169]

Yo was not expecting the cameo from @answerinprogress ! Love your videos and so cool to see all my favorite curious creators collab

As a person from Guatemala, I can tell you. We do, indeed feel happy for most of the time. Our relationships are strong and we care for each other. Culturally we tend to fix things by laughing about them, and that makes everyone enjoy even the smallest inconveniences or the big challenges. At the end, being able to support each other, even by only hearing them and communicating our needs (even if they’re unmet) makes us be happy. I also think we are a high religious country, we are thankful to God for what is and how things are. Phrases like “Dios le bendiga” or “Dios vaya con ustedes” are very common, and make us think of a higher purpose coming alive in the midst of our circumstances. We have one of the worst governments ever, we are poor economically, other countries come and eat our land, but you’ll go out to the street and see brothers and sisters all around, it’s ok. We’re suffering together, it’s ok, come to my house, have a cup of coffee, we’ll talk about it and forget it happened, give it a laugh and try again. ❤

[@Zavarcerealtor]

How the heck did I not know about this channel until today?! I've binged everything I want more. Let's make a video on Automation and what it means for the workforce within the next ten or 15 years.

[@danieldrntss]

Loved the cantril ladder book animation hahah

[@5pm_Hazyblue]

00:30 wait. Are they the answer in progress team??

[@mikeholczer]

I feel like I have no idea how to answer any of those questions meaningfully.

[@WispYart]

First one is closer to how I feel about happiness

[@jedirieb]

While I'm not a fan of the "positive affect" questions, in that they focus too much on one specific day rather than a time-average, I do feel like those questions tend towards what I think of as "happiness". For the "ladder" question, my first instinct on where to place myself was almost immediately tempered by my economic situation, which led to a score that didn't mesh well with how happy I think I am. Then again, it's certainly true that having too little money can make it... difficult to be happy. So perhaps the issue isn't really that either test is a better measure of happiness, but rather, it's that my understanding of my own happiness is nebulous at best.

[@macdougdoug]

Family groups can feel happy wallowing in primitive conditions - individuals can feel glum surrounded by technology, comfort and safety,

[@luizazanha5813]

I think there is a factor of self-esteem. I am from Brasil and it's difficult for us to be proud of good things we have about our country and our culture. I imagine this factor about nacionality, in a large sample, may influence the view we have about our individual life.

[@adams565]

Instant reaction: How did they manage to convince young Sophie Marceau to teach us about the happiness contest? Subsequent reaction: This is really good stuff.

[@kiwiamani99a37]

I loveeeee this week video!!! 🎉 Such a wholesome topic to dive

[@dh00mketu]

FYI Finland also has the highest number of mental health meds consumption

[@sonny.witton]

Hi, I love your channel so much! Allthough you probably already know this, i thought to mention how i've noticed Veritasium always change their video titles to be a little bit clickbaited using an interesting take on the subject in the video. I think also when they rename the video it seems to show up in my algorithm again and again as if it was new. Anyway, its cursed the business of the attention grab but i guess its so important in this landscape. With whatever you choose to do, i will say thanks for doing you and doing that so well. Sonny

[@robguevara7]

I'm a simple man, I see Joss, I press like

[@anb2456]

me too

[@mohalobaidi]

Ahh yes Finally The successor of how to do everything podcast ❤❤❤

[@jarde1989]

Howtown lookin like Poundtown

[@rainfall7972]

Where to find possitive affect score list?

[@Lazarov_Tweevles]

'When we first heard the news, I think every person in Finland had the same thought as me: "Am I the only one that is not happy?"' - Ismo

[@fipix6143]

As a finn, life satisfaction is closer to my view of happiness. Finnish word for happiness also means more of overall satisfaction and gladness of your life. Our word for joy covers more of the emotional (moment specific) feelings of joy and happiness. If you give me a present and i get happy that falls under our word for joy. I guess the finance, health and education related security in finland is quite high compared to many other countries, which makes many of us satisfied. In my culture and my understanding of our own word of happiness, that really makes the base of being able to be happy. ofc there are other factors but security is a big part of it and should not be disregarded.

[@saturated3821]

I very well know that the happiness report really measures contentedness and Finland is very good at that, but honestly also just the joy interpretation of happiness I find is very high in my friend circle, maybe we just express it differently than Americans, for example :D I find there are many Finns like me who even in dreary October even love the weather! Seasonality is so important to my conception of life, and every season has its place.

[@ilkesenyurt]

Oh god, why does this incredible channel has so little views? That's unfair!

[@HowToNguyen]

Saving the watch for after work today, but commenting now for reach / the almighty algo. So excited for this one!

[@Zarsla]

So did Joss had to know that it was the AiP team, in this. I don't think it was planned, but she was like since you're here, wanna join?

[@mattilahde5220]

Housing crisis was mentioned. In Finland there is no housing crisis. Rents are not rising as fast as medium income. Rents actually stagnated years ago. Even in Helsinki

[@inotaarto8719]

Onnellisuus = happiness But onnelisuus is rather how lucky you are or how content you are at your luck or circumstanses.

[@urmasliljestrom8616]

Indeed, the poll seems to reflect levels of satisfaction rather than happiness.

[@Goshified]

For the "how was yesterday questions", I feel like there are way too many variables in the way the information is gathered for it to be super useful. Like things like day of the week, time of year, time of day, etc can all affect the way that question is answered. Maybe the questions should involve a larger time scale to account for that?

[@poljento]

Similarly, the amount of smiling is very culture dependent.

[@chillynight201]

I think one of the reasons why they use the ladder instead of simply asking people if they are happy, is that the word "happy" could be translated with different nuances across countries, where for some it might simply be "satisfaction" while for others it may be closer to "complete bliss". At the same time though the ladder definitely feels imperfect, as you said it really depends on your own expectations of life. I agree that this question skews towards the negative. I personally thought that, if you think about all the awful things going on in the world, my life could be so, so much worse really. It feels more like a comparison? So even though I don't necessarily feel particularly happy, I would be tempted to rank my life pretty high just based on all the adversities I'm not facing ; which to be fair is definitely a marker of happiness as well! But I'm guessing that some people wouldn't necessarily interpret it in the same way and thus answer completely differently.

[@JuhaKolari]

When people get stuck on the word "happiness" in the World Happiness Report, it's like commenting the door of a house when you've been invited to walk in and discuss what's in the house.

[@camilamendes8417]

omg, im from Guatemala i never thought id see us at the top of anything good JKASRJHAHF anyway, i have some thoughts about this. for me happiness relies more in the "positive effect", laughing with my friends, being with my family, etc rather than the ladder question, because in some sense we are humans and we would ALWAYS want to improve our lives (have a better job position, a bigger house, a nicer body, etc) but that doesnt mean we are not happy with the one we have. also, i think our culture (central american) promotes social connections. i have a lot of family who moved to the USA and they are amazed by how self-centered americans are and how they see each other as competition (in my opinion capitalism have a big role in that). one of my cousins told me that in her university people tend to have earphones ALL the time when they are walking instead of talking with each other or how when the lecture ends they just go withouth saying "goodbye" or "have a nice day" or anything at all to their teacher. or if you hit someone in the hall they wont apologise or smile and said sorry. those examples in my culture would be seen as rude or at least unkind. in our culture we are expected to be kind with each other even when they are strangers to you. finally, hispanic culture tends to promotes deep family bonds. my mom has 40+ cousins and they love each other so much and see each other at least one time a year. however, she LOVE 4 of her counsins the most so we (the nuclear families of all of them) see each other 2/3 times a month just to talk and have a good time (and we party a lot and have better food /jk)

[@makhalid1999]

7:00 PAKISTAN MENTIONED RAHHH!!!! 🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰🫡🫡🫡🔥🔥🔥

[@OSDisco]

That scarf or muffler goes so hard

[@Alexandros.Mograine]

I dont have much going for my life but im satisfied and happy inside. Im not really a smiler and i think most finns can relate.

[@Muhammet-wk6gq]

I like it when I see your cat in the background minding own business.

[@Jenan-158]

حبيت فكرة الفديو و قد أيش المجهود المبذول فيه استمرو👍

[@vvivacious101]

This video is way more insightful than it has any right to be.

[@sampohonkala4195]

For me it is obvious that it is not about feelings. Countries are ranked, countries have no feelings. "Finland is the happiest country" makes no sense if it was about a feeling. It is about how well the society functions for the individual. And I am a Finn, somewhere close to the 9th step.