Writing Sample Task 2 – Topic HAPPINESS

Topic: While people in developing countries are happier than the past, people in developed countries are less happy. Why? What can be learnt from this?

Writing Sample topic Happiness

Citizens of developing countries are reportedly more content with their lives than in the past, whereas the opposite trend is witnessed in first-world nations. The underlying reasons for and the lessons drawn from this phenomenon will be analyzed in detail.

The principal cause for this situation could boil down to the prospects of positive change between the two groups of countries. A developing economy is typically characterized by a low GDP per capita, high unemployment rates as well as the prevalence of other social issues. The abundance of problems suggests that there is more room for improvement, and when positive changes do take place, the citizens could feel a visible enhancement in the quality of living. On the other hand, people living in developed countries are all too familiar with a high economic status and the sporadicity of social problems. It follows that there is less room for upward growth, that there might not be any substantial changes in the standard of living, and by extension, level of satisfaction.

From this phenomenon, there are two lessons that could be learned. First, additional units of wealth only contribute to additional units of happiness to a certain extent. The more advanced a country becomes, the less that advancement affects people’s level of contentment. At some point during the economic development process, the changes in citizens’ satisfaction starts to reduce and gradually becomes insignificant. Second, when we are materially better off, taking a look back to appreciate what we already possess is of great importance. If we let expectations be proportional to the growth of our financial status, the number of things that can satisfy us will decrease and so does our contentment. By contrast, gratitude for what we have at present might be able to help us manage our expectations and be happier as a result. In fact, some studies show that people who score high on the happiness index are often not the richest, but rather those who manage to set the right expectations.

In conclusion, the reason for this phenomenon could be attributed to the difference in people’s reactions to positive changes. Moreover, we could learn from this situation that the advancement of a nation is only proportional to its citizens’ happiness to a certain point, and that as we get wealthier our appreciation of the present life should be given more emphasis.