In Finland we have a saying ‘kell' onni on, se onnen kätkeköön’, roughly this translates to ‘whoever has found happiness, that happiness they should hide’. Upon hearing this, you might be surprised to hear that Finland has ranked number one in the UN’s World Happiness Report for the eighth year running, leading many to believe that us Finns are the undisputed experts on happiness.
I have spent some time reflecting on the Finnish concept of happiness, and how it is often misperceived. Despite the rest of the world thinking we are experts in the matter, I’d argue that we’re actually not that happy (or at least, have a different understanding of the word to other countries).
