Women ’ s Circle
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Women ' s Circle
On March 20 , the world celebrated the UN ‘ s International Day of Happiness , marked by the release of the annual World Happiness Report 2021 . One of the essential sources was the Gallup World Poll surveys , and scores were based on individual assessments of a “ good life ” based on the following six factors : GDP per capita , social support , healthy life expectancy , freedom to make life choices , generosity , and freedom from corruption . Interestingly , global life evaluations have shown remarkable resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic , and the rankings changed only slightly from earlier levels , although Germany has improved its position , moving from fifteenth place in 2017-2019 to seventh position .
Rankings of happiness ( average life evaluations ) based on the 2020 surveys compared to those in 2017-2019 .
country |
ranking 2020 |
ranking 2017-2019 |
finland |
1 |
1 |
switzerland |
4 |
3 |
germany |
7 |
15 |
new zealand |
9 |
8 |
austria |
10 |
9 |
Austrailia |
12 |
11 |
ireland |
13 |
14 |
united states |
14 |
16 |
canada |
15 |
10 |
united kingdom |
18 |
13 |
Helliwell , J . F ., Layard , Sachs , J . D ., De Neve , J . -E ., Aknin , & Wang , S . ( 2021 ). World Happiness Report 2020 . New York : Sustainable Development Solutions Network .
The Happiness Project
The idea of a Happiness Workshop came to mind last summer . Back then , three months into the pandemic , life seemed lighter , easier , and more optimistic . Recently , I decided to offer the opportunity to “ March Into Happiness ” to AWCH members . Twelve courageous women trying to find their unique HAPPINESS joined me for a three-week workshop . We explored how different people perceive happiness . We have learned that happiness may mean different things to different people .
Each of us , a unique individual with our own culture and history , has a unique understanding and sensitivity to information and sensations that may or may not make us happy . We found that happiness is grounded in experience , relationships , being together , acting together , having agency , having freedom , and being active . We also found that happiness is not about stability ; it is a transient state . For some , it may be a goal , and for others , just one of the forms on the road called life . And it is all okay .
40 The Clubs within Our Club
Anna S . .
Happiness comes in many shapes and colors ; sometimes it ‘ s the sunshine brightening our day , sometimes it ‘ s the simple act of breathing with our eyes closed and mind-wandering that makes us happy . I ‘ ve learned that it ‘ s important to discover your own meaning of happiness and embrace your own journey towards it .
— Cicek G .
I feel happier after the course because of the ability to meet up with a group of people who I can relate to . The last months have been so isolating , and I feel lucky to have met some new people with whom I could share my feelings . Also , it means a lot to me that other people felt comfortable enough to share their feelings . I think these days it is the little things , which we probably took for granted before or didn ’ t really realize the importance of , that can give us happiness ( being involved in a new group of people , hearing a beautiful piece of music , sharing emotions , drawing , breathing ).
— Alana L .