The pursuit of happiness

According to a new study, Kenyans are relatively happier than their East African counterparts, deriving most joy and pleasure from family, a hearty meal, time with friends and watching television, writes NJOKI CHEGE What makes you happy in life? Is it your family? Job? Faith? Friends? Achievements? What is happiness anyway? Wikipedia defines happiness as a state of mind or feeling characterised by contentment, love, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. So, are you happy in life? Do you have that feeling of contentment, love and satisfaction in life? Are you at peace with life?
In a recent survey carried out by the Coca-Cola Company, revealed that family brings the most happiness among Kenyans, after which come…ahem…eating, chatting up friends and watching television. This study, dubbed the ‘Coca-Cola Happiness Barometer’, sought to investigate and identify what happiness meant to different nationalities all over the world.
And according to the barometer, Kenyans are recorded to be relatively happier than their Ugandan and Tanzanian neighbours.
Marriage and happiness Recently, a lot of negative energy concerning marriage and relationships has taken momentum in Kenya, with the media being flooded with negative stories of failure of relationships.
Despite that, 95 per cent of Kenyans interviewed during this survey overwhelmingly voted their partners as the biggest source of happiness. Surprised? Overall, in all the countries where the survey was carried out, people unanimously agreed (77 per cent) that family and life partners are the greatest source of joy.
In Kenya, some of the biggest highlights of the day include eating (85 per cent), catching up with friends and family (68 per cent) and chatting up friends during the day (62 per cent). However, 73 per cent said that watching TV was another the highlight of their day.
Men vs women Whoever said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach was not wrong. Indeed, it has been scientifically proven that men derive much more happiness from food and the experience around food.
This survey confirmed some of societal stereotypes as men confirmed that food, security and work, are the topmost sources of pleasure while women cited the need for spiritual intervention when it comes to finding happiness. Women rated as most important prayer and good health.
When both sexes were asked how they cheer themselves up, 51 per cent of men said they do it through treating themselves to a hearty meal, while 55 per cent of women cheer themselves up through fellowship and worship. Explains why women sign away so much of their time to church meetings.
However, both sexes admitted that they find happiness in money, family and, yes, receiving phone calls! Seems that we are intrinsically social beings after all.
While women look for divine inspiration whenever they are faced with difficulties, men choose to sit in front of the TV after a hearty meal.
Women are also three times more likely than men to shop when they need some happiness as the scores for shopping as a source of happiness read 14 per cent for women and 4 per cent for men.
Globally, teenagers find their greatest happiness when spending time with their friends but a whooping 95 per cent said that their happiest moments are those spent with either family or boy/girlfriends.
Technology Then there is technology. Kenyan teens are reported to turn online for happiness, while 73 per cent of Kenyans are reported to derive happiness from watching television.
But the case is not so for people from Kisumu, who according to this happiness test, derived most pleasure from chatting with family and friends.
The big city syndrome This study also confirmed the popular belief that most people move to the big city to work and earn money. Nairobi residents interviewed in this survey revealed that they draw most happiness from their work and money, unlike their counterparts in Kisumu who were found to be the most social people in the country as they get happiness from chatting and catching up with friends.
About 76 per cent of Kisumu residents thought that the greatest highlight of their day was during mealtimes, as opposed to Nairobi’s 62 per cent and Mombasa’s 57 per cent. However, Mombasa residents proved to be the most religious people in the country.
Nairobi residents will be surprised to learn that their happiest hour is actually the hour spent in the traffic jams either going to or from work/school. From this survey, 62 per cent of those interviewed said that they enjoyed listening to music on their way to or from work or school.
People in urban areas are more likely to rely on their close friends and family as well as music, for moral support, happiness and pleasure unlike their rural counterparts.
The haves and have nots Apparently, the source of happiness varies with the social class. While people in the higher income bracket were recorded to derive happiness from friends in their social circle, middle class people derive their happiness from television (84 per cent) and the Internet, and the lower class people derive their happiness from a good meal (64 per cent).
Among the high-income bracket, 94 per cent are said to rely on friends in their social class for happiness, while 85 per cent of the lower income bracket thought their friends are the source of their happiness.
More interestingly, among the high-income bracket, only 55 per cent derived happiness from making money, while 33 per cent of their counterparts in the lower income bracket derived happiness from making money. These findings stamp the fact that the money you earn has little or nothing at all to do with your happiness.
Regional results Kenyans are the happiest lot in East Africa. Kenya ranked seventh in this happiness survey, after Mexico (first place), Philippines, Argentina, South Africa, Romania and the US.
Uganda and Tanzania fell to the bottom of this list of 19 countries, with Uganda being the country with the least of happiness vibes (63 per cent).
While 91 per cent of Kenyans thought that their source of happiness is their family, 88 per cent of Ugandans said that their biggest source of happiness is food!
This was explained by the fact that Uganda is very rich in terms of food, compared to Kenya and Tanzania. Ugandans also seemed to love their food as well as their music, with 41 per cent of saying music brought them sheer happiness. For Tanzanians, the greatest source of happiness is actually a hug, while their teens find dancing such a pleasurable moment.
As for Kenyan teens, the happiest moment is found online on Facebook, Twitter, and other social sites that they get opportunities to make and chat with their friends.