Redefining “Happiness”: Why This Word Limits Our Wellbeing Discussion

Finnish Nightmares by Karolina Korhonen

The World Happiness Report was just released, and as always, it made headlines: Finland tops the list (for the 8th year in a row), the U.S. drops further, and the media runs with it. But not everyone’s buying it.

In The Free Press, Yascha Mounk recently wrote a stinging critique titled “The World Happiness Report Is a Sham,” calling out the report’s methodology and questioning how a cold, reserved country where “nobody smiles” could be considered the happiest in the world. It’s a fair question — and one that actually gets at something deeper.

During my visits to Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, I discovered that the Nordic countries don’t really think of happiness the way Americans do. In fact, the Finns are in on the joke about the rankings. My good friend Tommi Laitio from Helsinki makes sure everyone gets a copy of the book Finnish Nightmares…most of which focuses on Finns’ notriously awkward interactions with other people 😄. As I mentioned to someone recently, Americans smile a lot, but that doesn’t mean they are happy or that they like you. Conversely, Finns don’t smile as much, but you probably know exactly what they think! Based on these findings, we intentionally stopped using “happiness” in the Great Life Project long ago. You won’t find the word in our documents, strategy, or conversations. Why? The work we care about—and an area where the Nordics excel—contentment, connection, purpose, meaning, belonging—isn’t about chasing a mood. It’s about designing lives that feel full and communities that feel whole. It’s about quality of life and well-being.

In a recent Instagram post, Finnish President Alexander Stubb captured this beautifully. He wrote, “Happiness is closely linked to meaning. And meaning often comes from making others happy.” He acknowledged life is never perfect — and that no one is happy all the time — but also pointed out that getting the basics right (security, freedom, equality) gives people a solid foundation to build on.

The World Happiness Report has value, and so does the new Realdania study from Denmark, which shows how social connections, trust, and local engagement shape quality of life (as my friend in Copenhagen, Jeff Risom, points out, the original Danish version of the Realdania report does not use happiness, but says “Vores livskvalitet” or “our quality of life”). But all of this reinforces something important: language matters. And if we get too focused on a single word like “happiness,” we might miss the bigger picture.

So yes, let’s read and carefully consider the critiques. Like any other set of rankings, let’s question them. But let’s also stay focused on what really matters: building lives of meaning, and communities where people feel seen, needed, and connected. That’s the work of The Gambrell Foundation. And it's more relevant than ever.

For an on-the-ground perspective on the topic, I highly recommend reading Will Cardwell’s Substack Post here.