Tweet

Gross National Happiness

Guest post by: Aly Pain

Article Overview: Did you know there is a country in our world that actually measures the condition of the country on the happiness of its people

Gross National Happiness

I am still reflecting on all I heard at the International Coaches Conference in Montreal. There was one piece I found so fascinating I have been researching it on line.

Did you know there is a country in our world that actually measures the condition of the country on the happiness of its people (GNH)?? That’s right, you read it correctly. They do not measure the well-being of the country on how much money it has or makes or in how many industries or factories employing hundreds or thousands at sub-standard wages in horrible working conditions or by rate of consumption of resources.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is changing the way we a globe define progress on little bit at a time and the big boys are standing up and taking notice. The Kingdom of Bhutan (IPA: /buˈtɑːn/) is a landlocked nation in South Asia. It is located amid the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by India and to the north by the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. Bhutan is separated from Nepal by the Indian state of Sikkim. The Bhutanese call their country Druk Yul which means “Land of the Thunder Dragon”.[2] Gross National Happiness (GNH) is an attempt to define quality of life in more holistic and psychological terms than Gross National Product used by many other countries. The term was coined by Bhutan’s former king in 1972 in response to criticism of a poorly growing economy. Developing and implementing the GNH index was the beginning of creating an economy based on the unique culture and values of the people of Bhutan and it is the current guide for all economic and development plans of the country.

Well, that is all good and well, but how do we begin to measure such a thing, this GNH? Many of the once and still critics of this system still believe that is it far too subjective to actually work. In my research I found the seven metric measures of socioeconomic development, including the nation’s mental and emotional health.[2]

1. Economic Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of economic metrics such as consumer debt, average income to consumer price index ratio and income distribution
2. Environmental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of environmental metrics such as pollution, noise and traffic
3. Physical Wellness: Indicated via statistical measurement of physical health metrics such as severe illnesses
4. Mental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of mental health metrics such as usage of antidepressants and rise or decline of psychotherapy patients
5. Workplace Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of labor metrics such as jobless claims, job change, workplace complaints and lawsuits
6. Social Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of social metrics such as discrimination, safety, divorce rates, complaints of domestic conflicts and family lawsuits, public lawsuits, crime rates
7. Political Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of political metrics such as the quality of local democracy, individual freedom, and foreign conflicts

What do you think?? I understand this might be a lot to swallow in comparison with our world and the way we see it. It is important that you also understand that since Bhutan has instituted this GNH for measurement of development in the country, it has actually out performed many others in the developed and industrialized world. Also of note is that in a 2007 study on subjective well-being, Bhutan rated 8th out of 178 countries and is the only country to rate in the top 20 with a very low GDP (Gross domestic product).

So why does any of this matter? Well I am not one to speak softly on passionate issues so here it goes.

Don’t kid yourself for a minute that this current economic situation we are in is really the issue. This is a huge symptom of an even larger, yet surmountable problem. We have forgotten how to be in relationship; with ourselves, the environment and others. We have created a culture based on consumption (in fact it is a measure of success second only to production) and greed that measures only what is produced (the big daddy of how great we are in our little minds) and used, not the lives that are being negatively impacted because we want raspberries in the middle of winter. What did we think was going to happen?? The second we stopped valuing people, all people, we created this economic disaster. Did you know that the term “growth” in the G8 Countries is equated to destruction? We want more and more and in order to keep up with that, like never saying No to a toddler, we are destroying our world and our relationships at an astonishing rate.

We have got to grow up people! Stop what you are doing and look around. What are you ‘consuming’ right now that you are pretending has no impact? I challenge you to rate yourself on the GNH scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest), then your family or work place. What might need to change to increase your score?

We are in a time where radical change is required and the lie is that we won’t be as happy doing it. BS! I bet that we would be happier than ever if could look past our egos and start living from those long lost things called values. Just imagine the time capsule 1000 years from now that reads -

“And there began a shift on the earth where all those that were once on top and sought after, were repositioned to equal status in the world. Radical change began from a place of authentic values and conscious relationship in service of restoring what was lost and reversing the the quotient of human destruction. The most surprising thing of all was that it began with a small and relatively unknown country call Bhutan and their lesson on GNH…”

Related Articles
  What are Royalty Fees?
  What are Franchise Royalty Fees?
  Pursuit of Happiness
  Happiness Is A Decision
  GMROI – GMROF – GMROL : How To Make More With Less
  Marketing Happiness
  How Gross is my Margin?
  Why are Lottery Winners So Unhappy? - The Real Story about Happiness
  How much money do businesses spend on advertising each year?
  Moments of Professional Happiness
  Pursuit of Leadership Happiness
  The State Of Happiness
  I Cant Use National Media Coverage
  TOP 10 HAPPY QUOTES
  Happiness
  Leadership Lessons: Automatic Happiness
  The Key to Happiness
  A Happy and Efficient Ship - Management Simplicity
  Measuring Success with Happiness
  12 Qualities of Happiness

Article Tags: gross, happiness, national
Referred by: http://www.infinity-pr.com



Related Forum Posts
Re: The secret to happiness - Happiness comes from within. We choose whether we want to be happy or not. Circumstances can influence our feelings, but in the end, it's up to us how we deal with our circumstances, positively or negatively. I admire anyone who can stay strong and be happy through adversity. There will always be challenges that we face, but I believe that if we face them with our heads held high, the odds of overcoming them are much greater. This reminds me of the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness." Happiness spelled wrong for a reason. One of Will Smith's greatest movies. I encourage you all to watch it as it's very inspiring.
Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - I agree with SHri, it really depends on the target audience and how much service you really need. if you are doing National campaign than you want a firm that has the National contacts. Lots of smaller companies dont have as many resources or connections. Many firms are going to a pay for performance model which I think will do the PR and advertising industry good. no more $5000 retainers for sending out a couple of press releases - no matter how well written or targeted! if they dont get picked up, they dont get paid. J
Re: Are you really happy? - So true Yinka. Happiness comes from within. MichelleJ
Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - [quote="TheRainmaker":23enhep1]I agree with SHri, it really depends on the target audience and how much service you really need. if you are doing National campaign than you want a firm that has the National contacts. Lots of smaller companies dont have as many resources or connections. Many firms are going to a pay for performance model which I think will do the PR and advertising industry good. no more $5000 retainers for sending out a couple of press releases - no matter how well written or targeted! if they dont get picked up, they dont get paid. J[/quote:23enhep1] Those retainers were insane and from a lot of people I talk with, the company really wasn't earning it at all. Other firms earned every penny, but its easy for some people to get comfortable doing as little as possible and still taking those retainers. Pay for performance can help make people "hungry" - when they are "hungry", then tend to be more motivated. Shri
Re: The secret to happiness - Happiness is working on the job you love. I forgot who said this, "give a man the job he loves doing and he will ever work again in his life"


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The Death of the Sales Magazine

Adapting to Technology and the Internet

The Importance of Master Data Management (MDM)

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.