Last week President Sarkozy said France’s measurement of progress should include factors such as healthcare availability, well-being and leisure time. Speaking on the one year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Sarkozy said: “The crisis doesn’t only make us free to imagine other models, another future, another world. It obliges us to do so.”
Measuring happiness will not be without a debate and there’s little chance that richer countries will come on board. But Sarkozy’s wish is a welcome sign that happiness is receiving the attention it deserves. In the wake of a financial collapse that disrupted every industry, the balance of our lives is being reconsidered. This is the spirit and point of view with which Saatchi & Saatchi S operates. Adam Werbach and team are championing a growing movement with the goal of happy people in a healthy planet.
I’ve written about happiness before. There’s the Happy Planet Index and the World Database of Happiness. I like what philosopher Daniel Dennet says is the secret to happiness: “Find something more important than yourself and dedicate your life to it.”