Feeling Good ~ A Pathway to Happiness

Aim For Just the Right Amount

FINNISH PEOPLE tend to subscribe to the Nordic philosophy of lagom, or “just the right amount,” says Jukka K. Savolainen, Ph.D., a professor of sociology at Wayne State University. How that’s related to happiness makes sense: If your basic needs are met, there’s no great drive to strive for more, which makes contentment and happiness more attainable. That may be a reason this country topped the U.N.’s 2021 World Happiness Report. “It’s ‘unseemly’ to want more than what’s ‘just right,'” Savolainen says of the Finnish mindset. “It’s the opposite of being flashy. Less is more.”

If “keeping up with the Joneses” is embedded in your thinking, try tapping into gratitude. There’s a long history of research on the link between gratitude and feelings of well-being. When you appreciate what you have, you won’t be so inclined to feel the pressure to achieve more–or the disappointment when you fall short.