Healing Space | World Happiness Index 2023: How to know if you’re happy

Without individual mental health balance, there is no collective balancing possible. (Illustration by Suneesh K.)

Note to readers: Healing Space is a weekly series that helps you dive into your mental health and take charge of your wellbeing through practical DIY self-care methods.

The World Happiness Index 2023 has just been released and India is at 126. We’re just not happy people, it looks like. But at least we are happier than we used to be, at 136.  Finland, no not the same Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway-vala (they are seventh), but sharing a border, Mrs Chatterjee-adjacent, are the happiest people in the world. And they have a loneliness epidemic and don’t even get sunlight for half the year! So, what really is the measure of happiness, both individual and collective?

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Well, Afghanistan is the worst ranked. So we can safely say that a repressive regime in which women don’t even get to go to school, have few freedoms and where drought, starvation, and corporal punishment is standard is an unhappy environment, even if you do have a lot of weapons.

But what is happiness for you and me? Is it just a standard of living?

Bhutan which has routinely been ranked one of the happiest countries in the world has had one of the fastest rates of growth in GDP (gross domestic product) since 2008 and has a per capita GDP of $3,266.36, higher than India, Bangladesh, Nepal and others in the vicinity. So having money definitely helps. They also have an above average forest cover. Mineral-rich soil. Water. But again, we are still in resources, money. Agreed that it establishes the ground to have all your basic needs met. But is that it? Is that all we really need for happiness? Going by the top ten on the list this year, that would seem like the simple solution.

In Finland, the survey found that people regularly donated or volunteered for the benefit of others. They felt safe and felt their public services worked. Sure they feel lonely and worry about their jobs, but compare that to the US where there is abundant GDP but a commensurate rise in gambling, opioid addiction and shopping, binge eating and gaming as well as gun violence.

One of the benefits Bhutan has had is it is a treasure trove of spiritual well-being. The kingdom is a traditional Vajrayana Buddhist state and it emphasizes not focusing on possessions (which is why it slips down the Happiness Index sometimes) and to not overemphasize pain either, an understanding that pain and joy are both a part of life, and that things go up and down and we can be equanimous through it all. The principle of Uppekha, equanimity or balance. In Bhutan the people are prosperous, tranquil, quiet, and friendly. They have a lovely environment and welcome tourists. If that didn’t matter, we wouldn’t have swathes of Scandinavian citizens visiting India year after year seeking spiritual growth.

Whether or not you’re ranked at the top of the Happiness Index, it is important to know for yourself what makes you happy. Having your basic needs met is the foundation, but also knowing that the government you have elected works well, you have public services that back up your expectation and that use your taxes efficiently, that you are secure, safe and have time for spiritual growth, charitable work, volunteering and collective social engagement through activities like sports or hikes. Access to a clean and healthy environment, and a non-divisive political sphere. All of these aid the pursuit of happiness. But more importantly, knowing that whatever comes, and there will be ups and downs for even the wealthiest or the happiest of us, that tranquility will get us through it to the other side.

Reducing anxiety on all fronts, financial, physical, healthwise, politically, socially and internally and environmentally, is crucial factors to meet our personal mental health needs. Without individual mental health balance, there is no collective balancing possible. When you apply this formula to your own life, how many areas of it are fulfilled for you? And what are you doing to balance the ones that aren’t?

Sometimes we can be wholly focused on the finances until the health goes. We can be involved in serving others but haven’t seen to our own financial security. We may enjoy our work but maybe we don’t feel safe, or live in a deeply divisive and combative household. Maybe we never get outdoors, and don’t feel connected to nature. It’s important to evaluate the places in which we find lopsided growth in our own lives so that we can lead more fulfilled, and happier, lives.

Do a self-happiness audit

1. Draw a pie graph of the focus in the various sectors of your life.

2. Plot the sectors according to the time, energy and resources you put into each.

3. Are there sectors you haven’t invested yourself in at all?

4. Consider the ones you’ve overinvested in. Ask yourself what you will do with all the assets when your health is failing? Or all the accolades for your volunteering with no money in the bank?

5. Which areas do you have to work on to bring the graph into balance? How?