Host: Anti-Aging Psychologist Dr. Michael Brickey
Guest: Eric Weiner
Broadcast and podcast on webtalkradio.net. The podcast is also on the links below
We all want to be happy. It’s the quintessential American obsession. Did you ever visit the Bahamas or some other paradise and wonder if they were the happiest people in the world? NPR foreign correspondent Eric Weiner got tired of covering wars and disasters around the world and undertook a special assignment to find what countries are the happiest citizens. It’s an assignment that reminds me of Albert Brooks’s movie, Looking for Comedy in the Muslim world-a search with wit and interesting discoveries. His answers will probably surprise you and give some clues as to how you might more wisely seek happiness.
Factors that help determine whether a country is happy include an emphasis on family, friends, gratitude, trust, having a culture, relationships, and a love of the land (e.g., mountains). Ultimately, however, being a happy country is relational, not personal. Factors that did not correlate with (or correlate negatively with) whether a country is happy include: warm, sunny climate, wealth (once there is enough income for necessities), large income differences between rich and poor, and diversity. While the happiest countries were democratic, being democratic did not correlate with being a happy country because many democratic countries are young democracies that were dealing with poverty, war, and other huge challenges. As Tolstoy put it, all miserable countries are alike; happy ones are happy in their own ways.
Mr. Weiner is the author of The Geography of Bliss. His books are at www.EricWeinerBooks.com. Dr. Brickey’s other websites are www.DrBrickey.com and www.anti-aging-speaker.com
