HAPPINESS; HAS SINGAPORE ACHIEVED IT?

What is happiness to you?

Happiness to me, comes in many different forms. It can either be derived from petting a cat or simply spending time with my loved ones. In fact, there are various factors that can turn a frown upside down.

Happiness can indeed be a controversial issue. Some believe it is an end goal while others take it as the beginning of greatness. Everyone has their own definition of happiness; what makes you happy may not necessarily make the other person happy as well.

Why?

Happiness and its sources have been defined differently based on religious, biological, philosophical and psychological grounds. Generally, happiness has to do with an emotional and mental state of welfare that can be characterized through pleasant and positive emotions such as contentment and joy.

In Singapore, most of us are often too caught up in the pursuit of excellence rather than chasing after what makes us happy. It is to the extent that the idea of success has deeply preoccupied our minds, so much so that the line between happiness and excellence is often blurred.

Can we, Singaporeans, really be blamed for this?

Since we were young, we were taught to be the best at everything we do. In school, we were driven to ace all our tests and examinations. If we didn’t perform up to expectations, we will be sent to remedial classes, tuition and whatnot. Aside from the academic pressure, we were also encouraged to pick up co-curricular activities to further develop ourselves holistically.

Was it all for the paper chase? Or was it for our well-being?

Upon graduation, we were cast away into the working world. It was a whole new world as compared to the school environment. We had deadlines to meet, profits to earn and bills to pay.

We, Singaporeans, are too caught up in our work that sometimes, we don’t even have the luxury of time to stop for a minute and appreciate the little things life. I guess that’s one of the reasons why we value materiality. Vacations and holidays are just too time-consuming for our busy schedules.

What other simpler way to pamper ourselves other than shopping? Now with the ever changing world of technology, it makes it easier for us to fulfil our materialistic desires. We can even shop while taking a five minutes break on our laptop, especially with all the online stores being just one click away.

Thus, I feel that we should ignore the stigma of Singaporeans being materialistic and unhappy, what more with Singapore being crowned the happiest nation in Asia in the 2015 World Happiness Report.

As mentioned earlier, happiness comes in various forms. There can’t be one universal report or survey to determine which nation in the world is the happiest. Each survey covers different aspects and sources of happiness. As for our dear nation, we excel in areas which are often tangible.

Therefore, is Singapore really a happy nation?

To me, there isn’t a need to debate on whether we are happy or not. We are all very diverse and different. We have different opinions, we see things differently and we can never be on the exact same page. Let us learn to accept different views and respect each other’s differences. As long as it makes you smile and feel good, I believe the answer is clear.

So, what makes you happy?