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By Pascale Harter BBC News
Can we make ourselves happier? According to studies from all over the globe
collated by the World Happiness Database in Rotterdam, we can. But the path to
happiness may not be where we are looking for it.
Professor Ruut Veenhoven, Director of the Database and Emeritus professor of
social conditions for human happiness at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam,
says his own study found a slight negative correlation between the number of
times people in a study spontaneously mentioned "goals" and their happiness.
"Though it is generally assumed that you need goals to lead a happy life,
evidence is mixed. The reason seems to be that unhappy people are more aware of
their goals, because they seek to change their life for the better."
But perhaps the most intriguing finding from an array of studies on file at the
database is the lack of correlation between seeing meaning in life and being
happy.
"Surprisingly I found no correlation," says Professor Veenhoven. Studies
suggest leading an active life is the strongest correlate with happiness.
"In order to have a happy life, a rewarding life, you need to be active. So
involvement is more important to happiness than meaning in the sense of the
why, why we are here."
But the best news on file at the World Happiness Database is that we can make
ourselves happier, and not just through external changes like having more
money.
"Research has shown that we can make ourselves happier because happiness does
change over time," says Professor Veenhoven, "and these changes are not just a
matter of better circumstances but of better dealing with life. Elderly people
tend to be wiser, and for that reason, happier."
A couple kiss in front of police at a G8 summit protest A politically active
romance might score double happiness points?
So what should we do to make ourselves happier?
Studies collated by the database say you tend to be happier if you:
Are in a long-term relationship
Are actively engaged in politics
Are active in work and in your free time
Go out for dinner
Have close friendships (though happiness does not increase with the number of
friends you have)
And there are some surprising findings:
People who drink in moderation are happier than people who don't drink at all
Men tend to be happier in a society where women enjoy greater equality
Being considered good looking increases men's happiness more than it does
women's.
You tend to be happier if you think you're good looking, rather than if you
actually, objectively speaking, are.
Having children lowers your happiness levels, but your happiness increases when
they grow up and leave home.
And be careful of that morning commute to work.
Start Quote
You can make everything clean and tomorrow it's dirty again, so why do it?
Jana Koopman
A German study (by Frey and Stutzer published in 2004) found a strong link
between time spent commuting and satisfaction with life. Those who spent an
hour on their journey to work were found to be significantly less happy that
those who did not commute.
And the study suggests that higher earnings from a job that involves commuting
do not compensate for the time lost.
Professor Veenhoven and his colleagues have been trying to encourage people to
do more of what makes them happy with a diary they can fill out online. So far
it has attracted more than 20,000 users.
Pensioner Jana Koopman says it has changed her life, not just because it helped
her identify what makes her happy, and prompted her to take up a painting
class, but because it made her do less of what doesn't make her happy.
Top 10 happiest countries
Countries ranked in order of "satisfaction with life", according to the World
Database of Happiness:
Costa Rica
Denmark
Iceland
Switzerland
Norway
Finland
Mexico
Sweden
Canada
Panama
"You can make everything clean and tomorrow it's dirty again, so why do it? Or
don't do it too often. I like to read. So now I just pick up a book I want to
read and leave all the other things."
Don't worry, though, if you can't put down your laptop and pick up a book or a
paintbrush. We can't be happy all the time.
Research shows that sadness is useful. It acts as a red traffic light to curb
negative behaviour.
According to studies on the database it's actually good for us all to be sad
10% of the time.
Professor Veenhoven and his colleagues have begun analysing the data collected
in the online diary to conduct more happiness studies.
So far, analysis on self-confessed workaholics shows, perhaps unsurprisingly,
that unwinding after work with exercise rather than a beer on the sofa makes
for a happier life.