The population of Finland has been recognized as the happiest nation for the sixth year in a row in the world. Such information is indicated in the World Happiness Report of March 20. What other peoples can learn from the Finns, one of the inhabitants of the northern European country told Express.
The publication spoke with Miike Mäkitalo, CEO of HappyorNot, a company that designs and installs Smiley terminals to measure customer satisfaction. According to him, being on the first line of the rating, although not for the first time, is surprising if this is happening for the first time. At the same time, the Finns themselves at first did not understand why they had been winning for the sixth year in a row.
“The fact that we have become the happiest country is still a little unexpected for most of us here, and we even joke, wondering if mistakes could have been made in the process of choosing the happiest state! Finns are usually self-deprecating about this kind of thing, so if you ask a Finn about it, they will probably be modest or even seem a little incredulous,” the source explained. “The outward display of emotions is not something we are especially well known for. As Finns, we often talk about the “Finnish smile”, which is really just a neutral expression, so it's hard for others to tell if a Finn is excited or upset.
As the head of the company noted, there are several aspects of lifestyle that can cheer you up. Among them is a high degree of trust between the population and companies, as well as unity with nature, the beauty of which is maintained by the locals on their own. “There is high trust among citizens and public organizations, and we can be sure that we will be taken care of even if something bad happens. Also, I think an important factor here is our respect for nature. Finland is a beautiful place, but nature can also be harsh; it gets very cold and icy. We love spending time outdoors, even when it's cold, and I think spending time in nature is good not only for our physical health, but also for our well-being,” he added.
Another aspect is the Finnish love for saunas, which is an integral part of their modern culture. According to some estimates, there are about 3 million baths in Suomi, while the population of the country is only 5.6 million people, i.e. one sauna for every 1.8 people. Finnish sauna culture helps people relax, the source is sure.
Finns also have their own unique philosophy, known as “sisu”, which Myakitalo says he uses during difficult times. This is an important feature of the Finnish national character and one of the national words-symbols of the northern country. Sisu is a complex, ambivalent combination of endurance, perseverance, turning into stubbornness, endurance, resilience, perseverance, courage, courage and straightforwardness.
“In Finland, we have a philosophy called “sisu”. This word is difficult to translate, but it combines perseverance, endurance and the ability to put problems in perspective. This is a kind of national feature. The word literally comes from a Finnish word meaning “courage”. It can be very cold and dark here for most of the year, so we rely a lot on our sisu mindset and warm saunas to get through the winter months.
I also use the sisu mentality for some of my more challenging activities like ultra-running, so I think it can be really helpful for building resilience and self-confidence,” Myakitalo explained.
At the same time, he noted that sisu and saunas are concentrated not only in the capital of the country, but also outside it and encouraged tourists who are looking for an extra level of serotonin to travel outside of Helsinki: “There are many wonderful places to visit in Finland. Our capital Helsinki is of course popular with foreign visitors and I believe many people know us from Lapland and visiting the real Santa. I think there is more to explore in our beautiful country outside of the capital. There are great places for winter sports like skiing and ice skating, as well as opportunities to see the Northern Lights. Some beautiful places are secluded, such as Koli, the old town of Rauma and the Åland Islands.
Recall the ten countries whose inhabitants are recognized this year as the happiest in the world:
- Finland
- Denmark
- Iceland
- Israel
- Netherlands
- Sweden
- Norway
- Switzerland
- Luxembourg
- New Zealand
The publication of the World Happiness Report also shows that Russia is at 70 92nd place, Ukraine.
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