One of the subjects I feel a bit apprehensive approaching my elderly friend about is happiness. Throughout all our conversations, he would quietly grumble or mention the constant pain he had in his knee, or about feeling lonely because most of his family were no longer around. As in previous articles, I had explored his memories and past as he relived and retold his upbringing and adulthood, times that he cherished deeply. But was he happy now?
“I am happy, I like happy. I think everyone is happy here.”
He wasn’t wrong, in fact, the World Happiness Report 2020 [1] indicated that Singapore placed 31st in terms of happiness level in the entire world! It sounds great in theory, but what does this really mean? Before we go on, I will break down what the term ‘happiness’ means in the context of this article.
This article’s definition of happiness There are 2 prominent ways in which ‘happiness’ is used. The first describes happiness as current experiences of feeling of emotions, such as joy or pleasure, also known as emotional condition as a whole. The second way describes happiness as an appraisal of life satisfaction or quality of life, which views happiness as an appreciation of life as a whole, rather than only in the present.[2] Indexes such as the World Happiness Report includes measures of both the current experiences of feelings as well as life satisfaction, this is known as subjective well-being. Throughout this article, ‘happiness’ is hence described in a similar fashion – the subjective well-being of people. ‘Happiness’ and ‘subjective well-being’ will also be used interchangeably. With the terms defined, let’s move to assessing the World Happiness Report.
What the World Happiness Report really tells us The report[3] links to a brief explanation (which can be found in the links below) of how it was generated. The 6 categories that contribute to the happiness score are: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, social support and absence/perceptions of corruption in government or business. Before I continue, I would like to point out that I do think that Singaporeans as a whole are happy. However, while a quick look at the numbers does seem to paint Singapore in a good light, it does not paint the full picture.
There are numerous metrics that remain unaccounted for, including that of suicide rates. In 2016, Singapore came in at 105th placing in terms of suicide rates for both sexes. This may sounds like a victory, yet in that same year, the World Happiness Report placed Singapore at the 22nd position.
Another factor that remains unaccounted for is social mobility. The 2020 Global Social Mobility Report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) measures the intergenerational social mobility in different countries in relation to socioeconomic outcomes[4]. Singapore excels tremendously in areas such as health, education and technology and government efficiency. However, in areas such as fair wage distribution and social protection, we fall below the global average and are far behind other countries of similar or lower economic status.
The focus on the link between economic standing and happiness is prevalent in studies on happiness, seemingly implying that only richer people are capable of higher levels of happiness. In studies like the World Happiness Report, which measure subjective well-being and have heavier emphasis on economic standing, Nordic countries consistently top the charts. However, when the weightage of the report shifts from economic standing to other factors, new results appear. A study done by Gallup puts Latin American countries at the top instead.[5] This study focused more on current experiences of emotions and well-being.
Evaluation In what sense then, can a nation’s happiness be determined by statistics? How much weight do these numbers really hold? Why do these reports have such polarising results? I believe that while these reports are useful, happiness cannot be defined accurately in this way.
I think that based on the results from these studies, we can say that happiness is easier to come by in Singapore as the conditions to succeed in life are great. But to define the emotional state of an entire country’s population is a stretch. Each individual has their own varying ‘requirements’ for happiness. It is true that many aspects are shared such as having enough food, having shelter, being safe from harm and etc, but I think we may be going too far to pat ourselves on the back as a nation to say that we are happy because we are ‘richer’.
The path you choose to lead and the journey to where you end up is what really makes up happiness. There are happy rich people, and there are happy poor people. Again, while I do not claim that money cannot buy some amount of happiness, I believe that a huge part of it comes from our state of mind. The way the report has been constructed – skewed towards favouring richer countries – promotes an all too familiar sentiment of:
I daresay that many Singaporeans continue to chase careers and dreams in the hope that financial success brings them happiness. We should do more to rid ourselves of this sentiment, and not only that, but of the idea of chasing happiness.
There is no sustained peak of happiness. There is no silver bullet for happiness. We chase the high points when we are at our lows, and yet at our highest, we hardly realise it. That is the beauty of happiness, it is a roller coaster with twists and turns, downhills and uphills, on a seemingly never-ending track. We miss the point of only chasing the highs of happiness, but it is only when you have felt what it is like to be down in life do you appreciate the successes. Instead of chasing happiness, we should learn to embrace both the bumps in the road along with the smooth journey.
Earlier I introduced definitions for this term ‘happiness’. The definition for this word is widely disputed for good reason, and you are bound to find a plethora of other society defined explanations of what happiness is. I implore people to consider these definitions, but ultimately construct your own. Set out to live your own ideal life and by your own terms. Only you can best measure your own subjective well-being or satisfaction in life to the best degree. This is comparable to deciding what kind of roller coaster journey you will embark on, for when you know and understand your own limits, extent and states of happiness, you will be able to better appreciate each part of your ride - high or low.
The World Happiness Report is a good benchmark of our achievements as a society. It is a good representation of how far we have come. But I believe that the only answer to happiness you will get is to ask yourself:
Are you happy?
"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play … It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile." – Robert Kennedy
[1] https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/finland-is-worlds-happiest-country-afghanistan-ranks-lowest-on-chart [2] https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-why-nobel-prize-winner-daniel-kahneman-gave-up-on-happiness-1.6528513 [3] https://www.straitstimes.com/world/7-things-to-know-about-the-2017-world-happiness-report [4] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/Global_Social_Mobility_Report.pdf [5] https://news.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/182843/happiest-people-world-swiss-latin-americans.aspx
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