Happiness, happiness, you shall pursue

In last year’s World Happiness Report – published before COVID-19 changed our lives in profound ways – the United States ranked 18th out of the 153 countries studied. And in a Harris poll from a few years ago, 33% of Americans surveyed indicated they were happy. This suggests that roughly 67% of us are not very happy with our lives. No doubt the numbers are probably more dim these days.

These statistics are baffling considering that to many of the greatest minds ever, achieving happiness is of the utmost importance, and we are failing at it. Aristotle wrote that happiness is the ul...