Happiness

The World Happiness Report is issued by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and it makes me happy that sometimes even a UN-affiliated body has something nice to say.

It is no coincidence that Independence Day follows Remembrance Day, as the shared grief must turn into shared joy. How does this affect us psychologically?

We do live longer – a whole lot longer, twice as long as we did a century ago! But prosper? Alas – that is a different ball game.

Israel ranks highest in the MENA region happiness scale, while conflict in Afghanistan, financial crisis in Lebanon put them at the bottom of the list.

New research from Bar-Ilan University indicates that people will feel better if they are alone by choice than if they are with others not by choice.

Can we be commanded to be happy? Is happiness a state of mind that is divinely imposed upon us – with or without our consent – or is there some secret to attaining this gift of joy?

The choices we make in life are critical to our happiness and our future.

Before you start reading this article, think for a few moments and ask yourself if you constantly feel anxious. 

The story of modern Israel is nevertheless one of irrefutable success, our remarkable collective happiness attesting to that.

Most of us believe that if we have lots of free time during the day to do what we want we’ll be happier. This study claims otherwise, and quantifies the amount of free time you need to be happier.