The road to HAPPINESS

The busier our world is, the more we long for quiet, beauty, calm, rest and happiness. Movements such as mindfulness and wellness are building worldwide - a more conscious life and feeling of well-being - a wave of resistance against the intrusiveness of having to be digitally present 24 /7. Social connection and technological disconnection hold the future of our happiness.

The last Global Wellness Summit, where more than 600 experts from 40 countries come together annually to talk about global developments and trends around wellness, delivered interesting insights. And the findings are going to influence everything - from the way our kitchen looks to how we travel.

Here are some of the aspects highlighted in their report.

WELLNESS MEETS HAPPINESS

We may think about happiness and wellness as being the same thing, but these days the concepts are being separated. Wellness is tangible and perceptible, while happiness is more of a perception. Happiness was always a vague notion, but nowadays it is being scientifically defined and measured. Annual reports such as the United Nations’ The World Happiness Report as well as the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index in the US now take the global pulse of people’s levels of happiness. And they show:

1 People are, in general, not happy. In the UN report, which includes 155 countries, the world’s mark for happiness is 5/10. It’s an joyless picture.

2 Happiness is more than wellness. Physical health (along with income and trust in your government) is a key measure, but social bonds also play an important role.