Nurturing happiness from trust and everyday connection
The 2025 World Happiness Report shows that Finland continues to lead the global happiness ranking for the eighth consecutive year, with an average score of 7.736/10.
Countries such as Costa Rica (6th place) and Mexico (10th place) entered the top 10 for the first time, while Lithuania, Slovenia and the Czech Republic continued to improve their rankings. In the opposite direction, the United States fell to the lowest position ever, and the United Kingdom also recorded a notable decline.
According to Lara B. Aknin - professor of social psychology at Simon Fraser University and editor of the World Happiness Report: "Human happiness is driven by our relationships with others. Investing in positive social connections and participating in compassionate actions both bring greater happiness.
Mr. John F. Helliwell, an economist at the University of British Columbia, gave a practical experiment when researchers deliberately dropped wallets with contact information in public places to see how many people returned them. The results showed that the rate of wallets returned was twice as high as expected, proving that people are more kind than we think.
According to John F. Helliwell, this is clear evidence that people are happier when living in a society with trust and mutual concern.
Meanwhile, Mr. Jon Clifton - CEO of Gallup emphasized: "Happiness is not only about wealth or growth but also about trust, connection and knowing that people always support you.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve - Director of the Oxford Center for Happiness Research said: "Eating together and trusting others are even more predictive factors of happiness than expected.
The report released on International Happiness Day also points out paradoxes: the number of people eating alone in the US is increasing sharply, while 19% of global youth have no one to rely on when they need support. This shows that happiness does not lie in great factors, but comes from very ordinary connections.
President of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network Jeffrey D. Sachs affirmed that happiness stems from trust, kindness and social connection.
Maintain happiness by loving and balancing emotions
From a psychological perspective, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thu Huong - Faculty of Psychology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU-Hanoi shared in the topic "Peaceful mind - living happily": "A person with good adaptability is one who knows how to recognize problems early, understands the needs of others, thereby forming empathy and a sense of psychological security.
She emphasized that compassion and self-compassion - or compassion and self-compassion, are two sides of a process of love. When people know how to treat themselves kindly, they will easily open their hearts to others.
According to experts, compassion-based psychological methods are now widely applied, helping to reduce stress, improve mental health and increase happiness levels.
She also affirmed that love is the foundational emotion of spiritual life, a feeling of attachment, gentleness, deep empathy with others - the central factor in all social relationships. Love is expressed through many levels: parent-child love, friendship, altruism, male-female love - all nurture connection and human happiness.
From there, experts send a message: "Learn to control your emotions, live happily, live healthily, keep your mind peaceful and your heart at peace so that every day is a journey towards happiness.
Happiness is not a luxury, but starts from simple things - when people know how to trust, connect and love each other more.
