Geography of Bliss

I just finished The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. Basically, a jaded journalist travels to ten different countries, the happiest and the least happy, to try and discover the recipe for bliss.

After traipsing across the globe, from Iceland to Bhutan, he says there are very few clear-cut pieces that determine one's happiness. Iceland, for example, is plunged into darkness half of the year and yet they still rate themselves towards the top of the scale. Qatar, a country of sunshine, heat, and wealth, has a resentful population who never seem satisfied.

At the end of the book, he finds only a few solid conclusions.

“Money matters but less than we think and not in the way that we think. Family is important. So are friends. Envy is toxic. So is excessive thinking. Beaches are optional. Trust is not. Neither is gratitude.”