Denmark consistently ranks first among the happiest nations in the world. But the secrets of Danish happiness are more straightforward than it seems at first glance. And they can be used anywhere.
Five simple secrets of Danish happiness
Secret 1: Love your comfort zone
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” This is the truth that the personal development literature inspires us to believe. Go where we haven’t been before. Do what we fear. Invent challenges for yourself and get what seemed unreal. Because your life begins there – far beyond the comfort zone, and it’s commendable that we often push ourselves out of it. It’s lovely to come up with challenges for yourself constantly. More training – more travel – more challenges. Fine, but the happy Danes won’t understand us. They don’t go somewhere searching for happiness and don’t waste their time on lists of goals for the following year. Happiness is generated here and now – in the comfort zone. Danes focus on what they love to do and don’t change it. Whatever the weather, they go to their chess, baking, or knitting clubs. They don’t stay late at work to finish a report but rush home to their loved ones. They don’t force themselves to meet new people at parties if they want to spend the evening with old friends. Because it gives them a sense of comfort. In Denmark, it often equals a feeling of happiness. Become happier and meet friendly people in for adult dating
Secret 2: Help
Danes are brought up in the spirit of teamwork from childhood and are taught to put the group’s interests above their own. That’s why so many Danes willingly agree to cook food for the homeless people and clean up the city after the festival chaos. Every third person in Denmark volunteers almost 20 hours a month. Danes love to help. And do it for nothing, expecting neither praise nor reward. Why do they do it? To feel important and needed. To contribute to a collective cause and become part of something bigger. To find like-minded people. Finally, shift their focus to something new and take a break from their usual activities.
Secret 3: Take care of your body
Being athletic and taking care of your health is almost an obligation in Denmark. Excuses like “I have no time, I work too much” don’t work here. Danes will say that you are prioritizing incorrectly. It’s hard to find a Dane who doesn’t have a membership card to a sports club. After all, if you’re lucky enough to meet someone like that, I bet they either run early in the morning, climbs mountains, or plays football with friends. Danes turn even leisurely walks with kids into a sport. Push the baby carriage forward – and run. They did two things – they walked the kid and pumped up the body.
Secret 4: Create coziness
A home is almost a sacred place for Danes. Here they spend gloomy dark evenings, of which there are nearly 150 a year. It’s where the “hygge” takes place, to which the main secret of Danish happiness is attributed. And even if the living space consists of only a few meters, the Danes will make a very cozy place out of these few meters. There is no need to buy expensive furniture. Because it is not about the price or the name of the designer, but about comfort, and it is created – with candles, lamps, blankets, which make the space more “hugely.” For Danes, home is not a temporary stopover station like “just for sleep, because I live at work.” No. It’s supposed to want to be there all the time. The Danish home is comfortable in the most minor details. It is a kind of harbor in which it is good to light candles and wait out the bad weather. The home is a warm refuge where you can recharge your internal battery.
Secret 5: Experiment
Danes love a warm, homey atmosphere. But if they go out of their comfort zone, they go out with fireworks. For example, the Danish restaurant Noma’s story surprised the whole world with its courage. Rene Redzepi, Noma’s 26-year-old chef, opened it with a bold goal – to rethink Nordic cuisine. From this idea, the menu has produced such masterpieces as “smoked quail eggs on freshly baked hay” or “roasted northern moss with mushrooms.” Delicious? Weird? Nonstandard. Rene Redzepi has embodied what others would not have thought of. He started the fashion for experimentation in gastronomy. As a result, Norma became the number one restaurant in the world. And it all started when a young chef ignored standards and started to create something radically different
