Eric Weiner: Why Iceland is STILL happy (Video)

Despite the economic crisis, author Eric Weiner still defends an assertion in his recent bestseller, Geography of Bliss, that Iceland is one of the happiest countries on earth.

Given that the country has gone bankrupt can that still be true?

(Cue banker joke: What is the capital of Iceland? Answer: $3.75)

True to his contrarian and cantankerous self, Weiner claims his assertion is even more true now. It turns out that Icelandic people get happy by being unhappy (or something like that).

Are you Icelandic? Do you agree?

Comments

[Þór Sigurðsson]

I concur.

Iceland has seen a great boom in the financial sector in the post-dot-com years while it didn't see much at all of the dot-com boom itself. This came as a welcome opportunity to many Icelanders to elevate their lifestyle to a level perceived by them as comparable to neighboring nations.

In this turmoil of acquisition, family values were often set aside. Family values have been one of the reasons of happiness in Iceland. Families are large (a decade or two ago, your "nearest family" included as many aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces as you could remember, and then some), but lately the group of "really close" people has shrunken.

When the financial crisis hit Iceland, these family values surfaced once again. People realize that their true values lie within the family and not their assets. So even though people may foresee a tough future, short-term wise, they have a large family to fall back on for consolation, advice and help.

It may also be taken into account that the Icelandic "bickering gene" is a really daft one - Icelanders may go on about something for a short while, but then they get fed up and turn to something else "more fun" ;-)

[cktirumalai]

The two Icelandic posters sound convincing to me. I particularly appreciate the point about learning who and what one can rely on in adversity.
I have not been in Iceland but it seems to me that people who have to cope with a difficult material environment a good deal of the time may come to acquire resilience in other ways as well.

[Gunnar Gunnarsson]

Jes we are very happy of curse. Crisis are to learn from it we will learn a lot, We learn were true friends are. We produce 2,5 million tons of food and eat 30 thousand tons of it, rest for export.
we produce 15 times more green energy than we use for households rest we export in form of aluminum.
It is maybe difficult now but the bank sector of the economy had to go and start from scratch in new way . We are taking the hit right away and will be first on feed.
Be Happy
Gunnar
Iceland

[Vera Sveinbjörnsdóttir]

Iceland has through the centuries met many challenges and always managed to come out of it OK. This has led the people of Iceland to be resilient and brave, even in times of danger.
So even when we are facing great difficulties, we truly believe that we will get through those difficulties. And perhaps we will even draw something from the experience, not only in the financial aspect, but the human.

Immediately after October 6th 2008, people started to be more considerate, e.g. in traffic. Phone usage went considerably up because people felt the need to talk more to family and friends and see if everyone was alright. "Hugs" became a national notion, in the blog world as well as in the homes and even in the workplace. People in general have felt the need to spend more time with family and friends and not be so caught up in the rat race. There is now more emphasis in the society to spend quality time with loved ones, instead of spending every waking minute working and earning for a quality car!

This situation has been a great reminder of those things. And I must say that despite worries, I am happier than I’ve been in a long time.

Greetings from the Biggest Little Country in the World,
Vera