…Or do we Brits have the right attitude?

If happiness lies in accepting life is not perfect, then nobody knows that better than us, says Nick Harding

It may not have been blindingly obvious in recent weeks, but according to an Office for National Statics report earlier this month, Brits are generally satisfied with their lot. We are averagely happy and sit mid-table in the international happiness league, where we are the equivalent of West Ham, while Denmark is Liverpool and Portugal is Huddersfield. As a nation we are 6.7 out of 10 happy, but steady improvements in average happiness and life satisfaction recorded since the first national happiness index in 2012 have plateaued since the end of 2017. It is not hard to imagine them plunging off the edge of a Brexit-shaped cliff if current conditions persist.

Which is why International Day of Happiness couldn’t have come at a better time, because although it may not be any consolation to Theresa May, who is having a particularly miserable week (again), she and everyone else feeling glum about the current state of affairs can take some solace from the knowledge that under international rules, happiness is one of our human rights. Hoorah!

The General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution declaring the right to happiness in 2012. Members are now expected to consider the happiness of their citizens in public policies. Venezuela, it appears, did not get the memo. Happiness as a government policy has been around for centuries. It was enshrined in the 1776 US Declaration of Independence and is present in the constitutions of Japan, South Korea, France and Bhutan. Happiness is now analysed, measured, studied and researched. Workplaces recognise that happy people are more productive, governments appreciate that happy citizens are healthier, and schools understand that happy pupils learn better.

‘Happiness is about trying to develop strengths to make the most of your lot in life’

So, in theory, everyone should be happy. Yet, smiley faces are starting to crack under the pressure of an ideological schism within the happiness crusade. On one side are the positivity enthusiasts who make lists of happy things and recite mantras such as “I am valuable simply for being me”, and on the other side are the evidencebased positive psychologists, scientists and academics, who warn that the modern-day preoccupation with finding happiness will in fact lead to misery. In this school of thought the

secret to happiness is not the search for happiness, but rather the ability to cope with unhappiness.

Sir Anthony Seldon, author of Beyond Happiness and vicechancellor of the University of Buckingham, the UK’S first “university of positive psychology”, explains: “There is a massive divide in the happiness industry. The researchbased community recognise that life is often very difficult for many people; economically, socially and psychologically. And that happiness is about trying to develop the strengths to be able to make the most of your lot in life. This means building resilience, grit and coping skills.”

Stephanie Davies is the founder and CEO of Laughology, a learning and development consultancy which has pioneered happiness projects for 15 years, working internationally with global corporations and government departments.

“Of all the emotional states, happiness is arguably the most sought-after and often the most misunderstood,” she says.

“People are taking happiness seriously as a policy, but the problem is that often the focus falls on happiness per se and the pursuit thereof, and not as a balance between happiness and sadness.

“Life is often far from perfect and if you spend all your time and energy trying to make it perfect, the chances are that when you experience adversity you will struggle, which is why resilience is so important. It is OK to be unhappy sometimes.”

To explain this apparent paradox, positive psychologists have increasingly turned to the Stoic school of thought, which is currently enjoying a renaissance in our unpredictable and turbulent times.

Stoicism is grounded in the realism that life is difficult. Although it sounds glum, Dr John Sellars, lecturer in philosophy at Royal Holloway, University of London and author of Lessons in Stoicism, to be published this September, argues that happiness is at the core of stoic thought.

“The Stoics say two things that appear contradictory. We can’t change the world and we can’t use the power of positive thinking to make things better. But at the same time, they say our wellbeing is dependent on how we think about things.”

What this really means, explains Sellars, is that happiness is within our grasp, but not through mastering the external world. The key is to view adversity as a test that we can learn from to build resilience for the future.

So, while there is no point sugarcoating the nation’s current difficulties, we can at least console ourselves that we will emerge from Brexit bruised, but wiser.