To be happy is to feel pleasure or contentment, and I believe it is one of the most important aspect of a person’s life. Everyone should aim to be happy, because to be happy is to be fulfilled in life. With this is mind, what is the happiest place on earth?
Disneyland has been nicknamed “the happiest place on earth”, and although many people may be happy while in Disneyland, I don’t think it can truly be ‘the happiest place on earth’ because many people are also unhappy there. Defining the happiest place in the world is a challenge. Is it a measure of the highest concentration of happy people per capita? Is it the place makes people happiest, even if it’s only temporary? Another problem facing finding the happiest place in the world is that happiness is not a uniform feeling, different things will make different people happy.
The World Happiness Report, released by the UN, ranks Norway as the happiest place in the world. This report measures ‘subjective well being’ by having citizens of different countries answer this question, “Imagine a ladder, with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. 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. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?” The happiest country Norway had the average result of a 7.54 and the saddest country, Central African Republic had an average of a 2.69. The report also determines why one country is happier than another by looking at economic strength (measured in GDP per capita), social support, life expectancy, freedom of choice, generosity, and perceived corruption. Norway is the happiest place in the world because they have the best economic strength, social support, life expectancy and generosity, the people there feel the happiest out of people in other countries.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-39325206
Hello Anna. I think I have been greatly enlightened in the ways people determine happiness. This piece really opened my eyes to the deeper complexity of one of humanities most essential, defining emotions. I loved the rhetorical questions that you had added in. They heavily influenced me to reconsider an idea that I thought could be understood so simply. Thank you for giving me a new perspective on happiness.
Hi Anna, I really liked how you talked about happiness and the happiest place in the world. I too, wrote about happiness. I thought it interesting that you said the happiest place in the world is different for each person because what one person likes, is not necessarily what another person likes. Do you think there is a place in the world where everyone would be happy, even if it is not their happiest place in the world? What is your happiest place in the world?
Anna,
It is interesting that happiness can be quantified, and some countries have a greater level of happiness than others. Like you said, happiness is difficult to define since it can be relative–happiness can vary from person to person. My dad spent a lot of time in Norway when he was younger, and he says that the happiness of the people is probably due to their good pay, lots of vacation, and free health care/education. Also, it is a very beautiful place to live. According to this article (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/03/20/happiest-country-world-united-nations/99280014/) most of the happiest countries share the same benefits. It shows that some of these policies should be adopted to fix the sadness present in other countries.
Sam
Anna,
This was a great read and made me think about this topic in a way I never had before. I agree with you about Disneyland not being the happiest place on earth. I wonder wether the UNs stats reflect how everyone in those countries feel or if they are only reflect a select few who where interviewed. To continue reading on this I suggest this article https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/20/norway-ranked-worlds-happiest-country-as-the-us-gets-sadder.html because it goes into the social relationships you talked about. This was a very interesting read and I look forward to reading your writing in the future.
Simon
Dear Anna,
I am very pulled in by your writing, In a way I agree with you but just in a few instances. Happiness is essential because if someones not happy they might go as far to take their life. When you said,”Disneyland has been nicknamed “the happiest place on earth”, and although many people may be happy while in Disneyland, I don’t think it can truly be ‘the happiest place on earth’ because many people are also unhappy there. “, I agree. I agree because happiness is not the same or derived from the same place for everyone and can be difficult to find. Also when you said, “the saddest country, Central African Republic had an average of a 2.69.” It made me think, sometimes depending on peoples well being or where they come from can effect whether their quality of life is where they find happiness.
Sincerely,
Justin
Very interesting comment, Anna. I think it’s interesting that Norway is literally the happiest place in the world, I thought it would be like Canada because everyone seems happy over there and there’s not as much violence in Canada compared to the United States. I like how you stated in your second paragraph “in Disneyland I don’t think it could truly be the happiest place on Earth because many people are also unhappy there” because from a person who once use to work at an amusement park, there are many people who expect things to be perfect and if it’s not they like to complain, making them unhappy. I found another article that also talks about the world happiness report (http://worldhappiness.report/ed/2017/), which you may also found it intriguing. Anyways, thanks for your post on the happiest place on earth. I look forward to seeing what you write next because I like how you write about things that is engaging to the readers. I also like how you present a topic and had information to back it up with.
Hi Anna, I agree with your statement that all of us should strive for happiness. Happiness should be such an important part of our lives and it should drive our motivation, relationships and goals. That beings said, what is the happiest place on Earth? Even though the Central African Republic has an average of 2.69 on the happy scale, people there might be more grateful for what they have and the relationships that they have, more so than developed countries. Even though people may not have material goods, they might be more happy than those who do.