Economia da felicidade...
while thinking about different ideas for a fellowship that i would like to apply for, i came across the idea of comparing happiness around different parts of the world somehow -it's just one of the many ideas that i have so far... not the best one, i know. this idea reminded me of a conversation that i had in one of my classes with some brazilians. we were waiting for the professor to come and they asked me if i was happy here and if i liked brazil. i said people were very nice and that it was a society that is not afraid to show happiness openly and loudly, i also thought it was a happy society overall - we can argue discuss that point of view at many levels but up until now, that's been my personal experience. one of them responded saying that even though there were many problems, they were a very happy country overall according to this happiness index. that's why i looked up this index and came across the following...
there is something called 'Happiness Economics' which attempts to create an alternative national index to the ones traditionally used, like GDP or GNP. there is a lot of controversy and many interesting findings that i though deserve some attention, especially because of two reasons... -one- i am studying economics and -two- i want to be happy and live in a happy country.
the data and the rankings vary a lot depending on the type of survey made from different researchers and universities. i found this one site called 'world database of happiness' and it contains results from different research methods and different surveys made over time in different countries.
since i have lived in four countries, i feel that i should definitely mention something about those four. i also include other countries that i find personally relevant because i have friends from there, because i am interested in them or just because i thought it was interesting to mention them...
AVERAGE HAPPINESS IN 145 NATIONS 2000-2008
How much people enjoy their life-as-a-whole on scale 0 to 10
(ranking no. COUNTRY - scale value)
top 5
1. ICELAND - 8,5
2. DENMARK - 8,4
3. COLOMBIA - 8,1
4. SWITZERLAND - 8,1
5. MEXICO - 8,0
countries i've lived in
8.-11. NORWAY - 7,7
16. BRAZIL - 7,4
27.-31. GUATEMALA 7,0
27.-31.United States of America - 7,0
honorable mentions - hehe
8.-11. SWEDEN - 7,7
13.-15. ARGENTINA - 7,5
17.-20.COSTA RICA - 7,3
21.-24. SPAIN - 7,2
21.-24. EL SALVADOR - 7,2
21.-24. GERMANY - 7,2
34.-37. CHILE - 6,8
34.-37 SINGAPORE - 6,8
69.-73.BOLIVIA - 5,9
74.-80. ECUADOR - 5,7
86.-92. PARAGUAY - 5,5
93.-97. PALESTINE - 5,4
TWO DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET TO HAPPINESS...
where to begin... let's look at the countries who would be expected to be up there in the list and then work our way down with the ones that might seem surprising.
Norway and the US are around where i would expect them to be in this ranking, from my experiences living in those countries i would have to attribute their happiness to many different values - productivity, independence, liberty, efficiency. In my eyes, people were happy in Norway because everyone had the equal basic grounding for individual development. basic needs were met and the everyday problems were not whether or not food was enough or safety issues but they were different. also, it still didn't feel like the level of happiness was the same during the entire year because of seasonal effects but they were overall a society which was good at putting the social basic needs in front of the personal ones. In the US i have noticed that if there is one thing they talk about, it is liberty. supposedly personal success reflects personal interest and work so everyone should be let alone so that they can do what they want. whether or not this liberty is real, is a different argument but it is definitely the one value that the US society discusses constantly and sometimes likes to bragg about.
moving on to countries that one wouldn't expect on the top 30s of that list...well, it's interesting to think that i come from a country that sees itself as a happy country, according to this one scale. this is something which in my opinion may be good or bad. Since guatemalans are happy with what they have, i have always perceived some level of disinterest in improvement and we often leave things for later because we are happy with how things are now... This is the typical 'mañana, mañana' attitude, which i do not like because it fosters procrastination. the reason why i dislike it so much is because it often gets into my way of doing things without me wanting to and i end up stressing - this happened often in the US where 'time is money' or in some parts of Europe where the trains arrive and leave at the exact minute written on their schedules...
Nevertheless, this attitude may also be good, because it makes the most of what we have at the moment and prevents us from living our lives stressed and worried about what we don't have, or all the troubles that our governments have caused, or the troubling past that haunts us. this 'mañana' attitude is also saying the following - i'm living today right now so leave me alone and stop talking about mañana so much. i know it doesn't sound good to live this way and i'm not suggesting to live one's entire life with this mindset because, in my view, that would just end up being unproductive. I'm suggesting to find a flexible point in between - be concerned about the future and base your actions to improve it, but don't let such concerns prevent you from enjoying the here and now. i have gradually found more and more reasons to live like this during my time in Brazil because, although it has not been as useful when adapting to life in Norway or the US, this 'mañana' attitude has been a very useful part of my culture in terms of adapting to the lifestyle here.
As time has gone by, i have noticed myself being more relaxed and flexible about details like time, plans, schedules and independence. i have noticed that many things here in Brazil, depend on others and may sometimes be things that i cannot change easily - like their attitude, punctuality, seriousness - so i might as well be aware of this in advance and not stress about things which i cannot control. This mindset has made my time here very enjoyable and relaxed.
this makes me understand better how guatemala, with all its problems, is amongst the happiest 30 countries in the world although the development indexes would prove otherwise. Brazil's case is similar in that way. it is a country full of contradictions, blessings and challenges but in the end, according to this index, it is the 16th happiest country.
all in all, i am glad to have been able to get to know those two different mentalities because it has allowed me to better adapt to the place where i am. that is one of the many many reasons why i am very grateful for having attended a UWC. Such experience allowed me to better understand those two different ways of approaching life and recognize their benefits. The results that those two mindsets bring to life are reflected in the rankings = they both bring about happiness although they bring it in different ways. Thanks to those two years in Norway, i now value both of them and this makes me confident in the way i live my experiences, both abroad and in Guatemala.
i apologize for the disorganized way in which i wrote these thoughts but i hope i can still get the message across. if not, feel free comment or ask about this...
while thinking about different ideas for a fellowship that i would like to apply for, i came across the idea of comparing happiness around different parts of the world somehow -it's just one of the many ideas that i have so far... not the best one, i know. this idea reminded me of a conversation that i had in one of my classes with some brazilians. we were waiting for the professor to come and they asked me if i was happy here and if i liked brazil. i said people were very nice and that it was a society that is not afraid to show happiness openly and loudly, i also thought it was a happy society overall - we can argue discuss that point of view at many levels but up until now, that's been my personal experience. one of them responded saying that even though there were many problems, they were a very happy country overall according to this happiness index. that's why i looked up this index and came across the following...
there is something called 'Happiness Economics' which attempts to create an alternative national index to the ones traditionally used, like GDP or GNP. there is a lot of controversy and many interesting findings that i though deserve some attention, especially because of two reasons... -one- i am studying economics and -two- i want to be happy and live in a happy country.
the data and the rankings vary a lot depending on the type of survey made from different researchers and universities. i found this one site called 'world database of happiness' and it contains results from different research methods and different surveys made over time in different countries.
since i have lived in four countries, i feel that i should definitely mention something about those four. i also include other countries that i find personally relevant because i have friends from there, because i am interested in them or just because i thought it was interesting to mention them...
AVERAGE HAPPINESS IN 145 NATIONS 2000-2008
How much people enjoy their life-as-a-whole on scale 0 to 10
(ranking no. COUNTRY - scale value)
top 5
1. ICELAND - 8,5
2. DENMARK - 8,4
3. COLOMBIA - 8,1
4. SWITZERLAND - 8,1
5. MEXICO - 8,0
countries i've lived in
8.-11. NORWAY - 7,7
16. BRAZIL - 7,4
27.-31. GUATEMALA 7,0
27.-31.United States of America - 7,0
honorable mentions - hehe
8.-11. SWEDEN - 7,7
13.-15. ARGENTINA - 7,5
17.-20.COSTA RICA - 7,3
21.-24. SPAIN - 7,2
21.-24. EL SALVADOR - 7,2
21.-24. GERMANY - 7,2
34.-37. CHILE - 6,8
34.-37 SINGAPORE - 6,8
69.-73.BOLIVIA - 5,9
74.-80. ECUADOR - 5,7
86.-92. PARAGUAY - 5,5
93.-97. PALESTINE - 5,4
TWO DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET TO HAPPINESS...
where to begin... let's look at the countries who would be expected to be up there in the list and then work our way down with the ones that might seem surprising.
Norway and the US are around where i would expect them to be in this ranking, from my experiences living in those countries i would have to attribute their happiness to many different values - productivity, independence, liberty, efficiency. In my eyes, people were happy in Norway because everyone had the equal basic grounding for individual development. basic needs were met and the everyday problems were not whether or not food was enough or safety issues but they were different. also, it still didn't feel like the level of happiness was the same during the entire year because of seasonal effects but they were overall a society which was good at putting the social basic needs in front of the personal ones. In the US i have noticed that if there is one thing they talk about, it is liberty. supposedly personal success reflects personal interest and work so everyone should be let alone so that they can do what they want. whether or not this liberty is real, is a different argument but it is definitely the one value that the US society discusses constantly and sometimes likes to bragg about.
moving on to countries that one wouldn't expect on the top 30s of that list...well, it's interesting to think that i come from a country that sees itself as a happy country, according to this one scale. this is something which in my opinion may be good or bad. Since guatemalans are happy with what they have, i have always perceived some level of disinterest in improvement and we often leave things for later because we are happy with how things are now... This is the typical 'mañana, mañana' attitude, which i do not like because it fosters procrastination. the reason why i dislike it so much is because it often gets into my way of doing things without me wanting to and i end up stressing - this happened often in the US where 'time is money' or in some parts of Europe where the trains arrive and leave at the exact minute written on their schedules...
Nevertheless, this attitude may also be good, because it makes the most of what we have at the moment and prevents us from living our lives stressed and worried about what we don't have, or all the troubles that our governments have caused, or the troubling past that haunts us. this 'mañana' attitude is also saying the following - i'm living today right now so leave me alone and stop talking about mañana so much. i know it doesn't sound good to live this way and i'm not suggesting to live one's entire life with this mindset because, in my view, that would just end up being unproductive. I'm suggesting to find a flexible point in between - be concerned about the future and base your actions to improve it, but don't let such concerns prevent you from enjoying the here and now. i have gradually found more and more reasons to live like this during my time in Brazil because, although it has not been as useful when adapting to life in Norway or the US, this 'mañana' attitude has been a very useful part of my culture in terms of adapting to the lifestyle here.
As time has gone by, i have noticed myself being more relaxed and flexible about details like time, plans, schedules and independence. i have noticed that many things here in Brazil, depend on others and may sometimes be things that i cannot change easily - like their attitude, punctuality, seriousness - so i might as well be aware of this in advance and not stress about things which i cannot control. This mindset has made my time here very enjoyable and relaxed.
this makes me understand better how guatemala, with all its problems, is amongst the happiest 30 countries in the world although the development indexes would prove otherwise. Brazil's case is similar in that way. it is a country full of contradictions, blessings and challenges but in the end, according to this index, it is the 16th happiest country.
all in all, i am glad to have been able to get to know those two different mentalities because it has allowed me to better adapt to the place where i am. that is one of the many many reasons why i am very grateful for having attended a UWC. Such experience allowed me to better understand those two different ways of approaching life and recognize their benefits. The results that those two mindsets bring to life are reflected in the rankings = they both bring about happiness although they bring it in different ways. Thanks to those two years in Norway, i now value both of them and this makes me confident in the way i live my experiences, both abroad and in Guatemala.
i apologize for the disorganized way in which i wrote these thoughts but i hope i can still get the message across. if not, feel free comment or ask about this...
No comments:
Post a Comment