How Happy is Our Nation?

Picture 01. Indonesian Flag

Adrian White from Leister University made a survey recently, what is the happiest nation in the world? The result is not from the richest countries, but Danish nation. Proof that’s not everything can be bought by money. Indonesian stunned in the number-64.

Another survey a decade ago concluded the same message. People’s happiness in the world hasn’t increased significantly since 1950. Advanced technology, economics, and world facilities in fact are not increase happiness of the world people. Then what?

Gratitude. Danes are easy thankful, enjoy life without abundant, life with contentment, and feel no need to be enslaved by success.

Why could Danish do that?

Picture 02. Danish people

In Denmark, education and healthcare are free, secure retirement, supported living philosophy don’t need to ambitious. Other than that the level of hope (expectation) of Danish people are low. A little success has made them happy. If failed, they were still pleased to rise again.

Picture 03. Danish Crown Prince & Crown Princess Visit The Danish Old People's

That means the stress level of the Danish people’s lives is minimal. Different with an athlete in our nation who we think is very healthy, listed also has a heart attack as well. The Reason is stress factor. Cardiac coronary vessels could have been closed (coronary spasm) if stress infests.

Picture 04. Danish Family

Stress damage to the body, in addition to undermine happiness. Most of people illness now, stress is the trigger. Bestowed troubled soul to the form of suffering body(psychosomatic). The misguided and wrong life also will add load stress for most people today.

The Paradox of “n-Ach”

Picture 05. a stress person

At the beginning of the modernization, the progress of a nation was determined by the spirit of the need-for-achievement (“n-Ach mental virus”). The soul of nations that never feel satisfied is more accelerated in their rate of development. All nations compete want to be more advanced race. Troya Nation first, and the Japanese people now, for example. That spirit which is never satisfied, is the principal rapid economic boom in a nation.

Picture 06. a Japanese man who is sleeping in the train because of his fatigue of work.

However, it’s proven now, the nation which is dictated by the high desires and ambitions are not happier than people who prefer to live gratitude and live on enough. That’s because there are really no upper limit for satisfaction.

Unfortunately only quarter of respondents in the world who have believed this.
By Measuring the satisfaction with life index, the Japanese people’s happiness only at number 90 of the world. Small countries and not too rich, like Bahamas, Sweden, Malta, Costa Rica, and Butane, are included on 20 highest of the world in his nation’s happiness.

Picture 07. a Japanese man who is sleeping on the train because of his fatigue of work.

Happiness surveys that using WHO, UNESCO, the CIA and the New Economic Foundation data, are measured from the subjective nation satisfaction on health, education, and relative wealth, in addition to life expectancy levels. The lower the expectations of a nation, increasingly easy to grow up feeling grateful and feeling happy.Conversely, the higher of the expectations of the nation, more and more dissatisfied and become less happy.

Picture 08. a Japanese man who is sleeping on the train because of his fatigue of work.

We see how the Japanese people walking as being chased by ghost. They average are workaholic and have high expectations in life so also the Republic of Korea, China, and Thailand which the degree of happiness were at number 102, 82nd, and 76th only. Endless pursuit of the achievement level of the nation is inversely proportional to the rate of happiness in life.

Picture 09. a Japanese man who is sleeping on the train because of his fatigue of work.

Lots of money was not happy

Philosophy of the people are a lot of misguided. Average parents brought their children to school with the goal to be money-making machine merely. Success of life assessed with the money. Fact the money is really important. But that’s not what increases happiness. Danish people view the success of life is important. But, enjoy life, friendly with the family and friends become the main value. To be happier, better way of life needs to be taken.

Picture 10. the Japanese who are queing to propose a job.

Because the success of most people mixed in with money and property, people are stuck to worked-hard for money, wealth, and power in abundance, but often unhappy because they don’t like their field of work. Average parents and universities are now already wrong to take children reap happiness.

Picture 11. A dead Japanese man because of Karoshi (death due to stress of working)

People could buy a gold bed, not sleeping. Could buy sex, not love. Could buy drugs, not health. It’s true the educational paradigm should be rotated so that the graduates work in a profession that only truly loved by himself. That's also why the college entrance test is considered an important motivation for selecting candidates for future professional success, not for the false success. A lot of money, but not happy.

Universities in developed countries now receive a student do not merely look at academic achievement. There are many prospective smart students, but to be a true professional is a little. Just because of the love of the job, true success and productivity for the country will be reached.

Clever is not enough. Now child needs to be smart plus. Some types of intelligence are not necessarily acquired in school. There are kinds of intelligence that cannot be learned but develops by itself if the child is not nerdy. Pros such as tacit knowledge isn’t all children have. Save the intelligence is capable reach happiness, one of them.

State wealth is not everything. Enchanted against American Dreams, reputedly that makes the happiness of American nation which is wealthy only at number 23. Looking at the above survey results is not hard to make people happy.

For us, that can be as happy as the Danes, at least the state should provide sufficient education and health, in addition for retirement benefits. Schools must educate children in easy to feel grateful and believe that there is no upper limit in terms of life satisfaction, in addition to believing that money cannot buy anything purchased. Not really able to atone for happiness in life.

Source: KOMPAS; December 2009