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'The Geography of Bliss' searches for the happiest places
In “The Geography of Bliss,” subtitled “One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World,” Eric Weiner (pronounced “Whiner”—how apt is that!) travels the world to visit countries where the inhabitants identified themselves as either very happy or very unhappy.The premise results in a fascinating combination of a travelogue and research statistics that I am always wishing I could remember for party conversations. For example, no later than page 14, Weiner shares these findings:
“Extroverts are happier than introverts; optimists are happier than pessimists; married people are happier than singles, though people with children are no happier than childless couples; Republicans are happier than Democrats; people who attend religious services are happier than those who do not; people with college degrees are happier than those without, though people with advanced degrees are less happy than those with just a BA; people with an active sex life are happier than those without; women and men are equally happy, though women have a wider emotional range; having an affair will make you happy but will not compensate for the massive loss of happiness that you will incur when your spouse finds out and leaves you; people are least happy when they’re commuting to work; busy people are happier than those with too little to do; wealthy people are happier than poor ones, but only slightly.”
Are you already ticking off which attributes describe you? How do you think Rappahannock residents match up to this list?
Of course, Weiner points out the fallacy of descriptive research; these are correlational studies not causal studies. In other words, we know that happiness is more highly correlated with married people than with unmarried people, but we don’t know that marriage causes happiness. In fact, maybe the underlying explanation is that happy people are more likely to be married. And, another disclaimer, the data come from self-reports, surveys that individuals complete orally or in writing as they respond to questions and rank their happiness. We have to assume that over many studies and subjects these self-reports accrue and have certain validity.
With caveats aside, we then join Weiner as he travels the world analyzing the relative happiness of each population as reported in the research and hypothesizing the underlying causes. Yes, there is a science of happiness, a relatively new field within the discipline of psychology, with a World Database of Happiness (WDH) in the Netherlands.
Weiner begins his odyssey there, interviewing world renown scientists and explaining the nuances of the studies. Then Weiner heads out to discover happiness, a bit surprised to have learned that, in fact, most people are happy, and that the form of government does not determine happiness, nor the diversity of population, nor the disparity between rich and poor.
He travels to Switzerland (one of the happiest European countries), then to Bhutan (also happy and with a happiness policy), Qatar (no amount of wealth can buy happiness), Iceland (cold, small, and dark and the top of the happiness quotient), Moldova (where even the Peace Corps volunteers are unhappy), Thailand (where happiness is the Thai smile), Britain (where experts tried to change a town’s happiness), India (Calcutta’s poor are happier than California’s homeless), and back to America (the world’s twenty-third happiest nation).
Weiner describes each country with specific details that rang true for those I had visited. His prior experience as a National Public Radio reporter equipped him to recount his visits with humor and insight.
Some threads I identified as I made my way around the world with Weiner:
Living close to and valuing nature makes you happy (Switzerland)
Trust, in neighbors and friends and family, more than income or health, is the biggest factor in determining happiness (Switzerland, Bhutan, research)
“God is important in my life”—people who agree with this statement are significantly happier than those who disagree
Money can’t buy happiness—lottery winners soon returned to the same level of happiness as they had before becoming rich (Qatar)
A virtuous life necessarily leads to a happy life (Iceland)
Happiness is a choice
We are happiest in youth and old age
Helping others makes us happy (clergy, physical therapists, nurses, and firefighters are the happiest professions)
Spending time with family and friends makes us happy (not commuting)
Do you see our fellow Rappahannock residents in the list above? I do. So, for a book of humor, a book of travel, a book of research, and a book of inspiration, turn to “The Geography of Bliss,” and know that you have found your own geographical bliss right here.
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