And The Happiest Place On Earth Is...

Morley Safer On Why The Danes Are Considered The Happiest People On Earth

(CBS)  This segment was originally broadcast on Feb. 17, 2008. It was updated on June 12, 2008.

Happiness is that quirky, elusive emotion that the Declaration of Independence maintains we have every right to pursue. And we do pursue it: we are suckers for an endless stream of self-help books that promise a carefree existence for a mere $24.95; and television hucksters of every kind claim they have the key to Nirvana. So the happiness business, at least, is one big smiley face.

As for the rest of us, as correspondent Morley Safer first reported last winter, the main scientific survey of international happiness carried out by Leicester University in England ranks the U.S. a distant 23rd, well behind Canada and Costa Rica. But you'll be pleased to know we beat Iraq and Pakistan.

And the winner, once again, is Denmark.

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Over the past 30 years, in survey after survey, this nation of five and a half million people, the land that produced Hans Christian Andersen, the people who consume herring by the ton, consistently beat the rest of the world in the happiness stakes. It's hard to figure: the weather is only so-so, they are heavy drinkers and smokers, their neighbors, the Norwegians, are richer, and their other neighbors, the Swedes, are healthier.

So it's ironic or something that the unhappiest man in history, or at least literary history, was that Prince of Denmark, Hamlet.

Of course Hamlet had every right to be depressed. After all, his uncle murdered his father and seduced and married his mother and was an all around perfect scoundrel. But Hamlet aside, what makes a Dane so happy and why isn't he wallowing in misery and self-doubt like so many of the rest of us?

That's a question that also intrigued Professor Kaare Christensen at the University of Southern Denmark.

"If you ask people on the street where they think the happiest country in the world, they'll say, you know, like, tropical islands and nice places, like Italy or Spain. Places with nice weather and good food. But in Europe, they're actually the most unhappy people," Dr. Christensen explains.

So Christensen and a team of researchers tried to discover just why Denmark finds itself on top of the happiness heap.

"We made fun of it by suggesting it could be because blondes have more fun. But then we could prove that the Swedes have more blondes than the Danes, and they were not as happy. So we tested different hypotheses," Christensen says.

After careful study, Christensen thinks he isolated the key to Danish anti-depression. "What we basically figured out that although the Danes were very happy with their life, when we looked at their expectations they were pretty modest," he says.

By having low expectations, one is rarely disappointed.

Christensen's study was called "Why Danes Are Smug," and essentially his answer was it's because they’re so glum and get happy when things turn out not quite as badly as they expected. "And I was thinking about, What if it was opposite? That Denmark made the worst, number 20, and another country was number one. I'm pretty sure the Danish television would have said, 'Well, number 20's not too bad. You know it's still in the top 25, that's not so bad,'" he says.

History may also play a role in the country's culture of low expectations. If you go to the government's own Web site, it proudly proclaims “the present configuration of the country is the result of 400 years of forced relinquishments of land, surrenders and lost battles."

Could it be that the true secret of happiness is a swift kick in the pants, or a large dose of humiliation?

[Sewel_Road]

Here is a video titled "I Want To Live In A World Where..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjJKiCgFlGU

[kephara]

We Americans are a good people; sincere, hardworking but sadly, easily manipulated into being smug, arrogant and self-delusional. We are led to believe that the "American Way" is best and that the rest of the world is envious of us. We are mistaken. The Danes - and many others - live the lives they wish with freedom, security and prosperity. I''ve spent a great deal of time in Denmark and with each visit, my love for this beautiful country and admiration for their way of life grows. We should be so content.

[johnatmls]

My happiness dramatically increased about 25 years ago when I heard a quotation of Benjamin Franklin: "I always expect the worst, and many times I am pleasantly surprised". It was an epiphany for me as my entire life had been based on the power of positive thinking, I pursued it relentlessly and it wasn''t working. Suddenly after reading this quotation I realized it''s wisdom. I can honestly say I am much happier because of it.

[cheriwabi]

I''m appalled that anyone would take advice from a bunch of mediocre Sponges. Just happy to drift along and be paid by the government to sit home or take classes. Then the gall to tell us Americans to give up on the American Dream. This piece of journalism was mediocre. Happiness /or rather fullfillment is reaching ones potential not settling to live the life of a lap dog.

[gavinjohnson-2009]

No mention of the high concentrations of omega oils in herring. omega oils are great mood stabilizers.

[reujack]

This is the kind of "change" I''d like to see in the U.S.

[autmnchicago]

I too was absolutely offended that CBS would allow the final statement of its segment to bash the American dream. I''m sorry, but what does a naive and apparently untravelled and inexperienced guy from Denmark know about achieving the American Dream? Was our country not founded on having the freedom to do anything we wish to make our own realities, vs. other countries whose limitations and subtle communism dillutes their world to realites that are only allowed? I was insulted that we would even leave someone to vocalize that our dreams are a disappointment. CBS you''ve absolutely lost my respect. Great journalism. Way to support your own country and everything we stand for.

[gavinjohnson-2009]

No mention of the high concentrations of omega oils in herring. omega oils are great mood stabilizers.

[gkc99]

Americans are suckers to believe that slaving full time with a piddly 2 weeks vacation per year is as good as the employers can give.

The advantage to being a worker in Europe is strong unions and a government that''s not owned by the Billionaire class the way the Bushit administration is.

Plus, paid for medical care and a decent retirement.

Americans, on the other hand, just let themselves be used up by the employers. And when it serves the employers interests, they outsource jobs to Asia.

Perhaps the US should also take a look at the immigration policies of the prosperous European countries.

[feelfree4u]

One has to wonder why some Danes are devoting so much time and energy towards provoking and demonizing Muslims, if they are so happy.

###

Why is there an ad here from the greedy oil pirates and shameless war profiteers of Exxon-Mobil?

Denmark doesn''t have any oil for them to steal, do they?

[arj4031]

Although I''m somewhat skeptical of the methods of determining "happiness", it''s interesting that so often things have to be in terms of rich or poor/high or low expectations etc. Whatever happened to the "moderate", and having somewhat "realistic" expectations while being pleasantly surprised by the exceptional? I guess dichotomy is most interesting, particularly to the media. But I agree that many rich people aren''t happier, because they''re often so bent on acquiring more stuff instead of appreciating what they have. For some, the ability to meet basic needs, do what one really desires to do in life, have decent relationships, and have some security into retirement is quite enough. And more than so many people in the world have.

[relee9]

I AM APALLED THAT THE SEGMENT AIRED ON KIRO7, IN WashinGton ENDED WITH THE STATEMENT "THAT AMERICANS SHOULD GIVE UP ON THE AMERICAN DREAM." AND NOT ONE RESPONSE BY THE INTERVEIWER WAS MADE. IS CBS AND MORLEY SHAFER SO NAIVE, OR JUST PLAIN DUMB, TO NOT RECOGNIZE THE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WHO HAVE FOUGHT AND DIED FOR THE ABILITY TO PURSUE THE AMERICAN DREAM? AS A RETIRED MEMBER OF THE MILITARY, I WAS VERY MUCH OFFENDED BY THE COMMENT, AS WELL AS THE LACK OF RESPONSE BY MORLEY, THAT THE "DREAM" AND DEFENSE OF IT IS WHAT MAKES THE UNITED STATES THE GREATEST COUNTRY ON EARTH,

[byxcv0]

In fact Danes in my opinion enjoy too much "happiness." Its the only civilized western nation where a person may legally purchase *** with an animal and the first nation to offer free fertilized embryo implants to lesbian couples. I think there is something rotten in Denmark.

[mmph19]

I spent three weeks in Denmark last year in a rented farmhouse near Mons. My husband and I traveled extensively around the country in towns, cities, and the countryside. Every store closes there so early and it was difficult to get a restaurant meal after 6:00pm in all but the most urban of areas. Shops and stores opened late the next morning. These people are happy because they''re getting lots and lots of sleep. See Leslie Stahl''s story. Forget the sleep labs in Chicago, send a few researchers to the Baltic.

[jack-john]

Easy explanation. There ain''t nuthin like a Dane, nuthin in the world. There ain''t nuthin you can name that is anything like a DANE!!!!!! ;)

[jack-john]

Easy explanation! "There ain''t nuthin like a Dane, nuthin in the world, there ain''t nutin you can name that is anything like a Dane! ;)

[jack-john]

Easy explanation! "There ain''t nuthin like a Dane, nuthin in the world, there ain''t nutin you can name that is anything like a Dane! ;)

[cbeckley9]

6 weeks per year vacation time is laughable.

In Denmark I would never have been able to build a business from nothing and take an average of 8-9 weeks vacation per year - and I intend to increase that to 12 weeks per year in the coming years.

Denmark might allow the average person with average abilities to be happy, but those that have ambition and talent will always have their spirits crushed... that''s why the best and brightest will always move to America.

There are enough socialist countries in the world already. The politicians and media are pushing to make America just like Europe. Why not let there be one country remain as its founders intended that allows people the freedom to grow to their full potential?

[cbeckley9]

6 weeks per year vacation time is laughable.

In Denmark I would never have been able to build a business from nothing and take an average of 8-9 weeks vacation per year - and I intend to increase that to 12 weeks per year in the coming years.

Denmark might allow the average person with average abilities to be happy, but those that have ambition and talent will always have their spirits crushed... that''s why the best and brightest will always move to America.

There are enough socialist countries in the world already. The politicians and media are pushing to make America just like Europe. Why not let there be one country remain as its founders intended that allows people the freedom to grow to their full potential?

[MollyClaire]

I watched the "Science of Sleep" and "And The Happiest Place On Earth Is...". One question was unanswered: How much sleep do the Danes get?