Being Canadian helps your happiness. So does your DNA.

The American Declaration of Independence maintains the Creator endowed all men with certain "unalienable rights". Among them are "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

You would think, given the founding fathers' preoccupation with the pursuit of happiness, the United States would be a nation of people with a deep sense of well-being. Apparently not. Despite decades of unparalleled economic growth and technological advancement, Americans are no happier today than they were in the 1950s.

Canada began with less ambitious goals. Our constitution speaks of "peace, order and good government". Nowhere does it say we have a right to pursue happiness. Nor does it commit our governments to protect such a right. Yet, study after study shows Canadians have been, and continue to be, happier and more fulfilled than Americans.

According to the 2012 Gallup World Poll on subjective well-being, Canada ranked second out of 150 countries. We rated our life satisfaction at 7.7 out of 10. The Danes came first, with a 7.8 rating. Life satisfaction in the U.S. ranked 17th.

In the same year the United Nations issued its first "World Happiness Report." Canada ranked fifth out of the 156 countries surveyed; the land of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" ranked 11th.

So, why aren't people who enjoy one of the highest per-capita annual incomes in the world (U.S. $50,000; Canada $40,000) at the top of every world happiness survey?

It's partly to do with the role money plays in influencing our well-being.

Money can buy happiness. But it has a surprisingly limited and often evaporating effect. The Easterlin Paradox maintains that higher incomes do not necessarily make us happier. Money matters, but only up to a point.

People are more concerned about how their standard of living compares with others than they are about their specific circumstances. So when everyone's income rises, there isn't the same heightening of happiness. People quickly adapt to their new level of income. However, their sense of well-being improves noticeably when they move from poor to less poor, or from rich to richer, compared to those around them.

Extreme income and wealth inequity is one reason why our wealthier neighbours to the south are not as happy as we are. In the U.S. the top 1% rake in an unbelievable 25% of all American income. They hold more wealth than all the people in the bottom 90%.

Most of the income gains in the U.S. over the last 30 years have gone to the top income earners — those whose well-being is least dependent on more money. Canadians also suffer from growing income disparity, but not to the same degree as Americans.

Equally important, the UN World Happiness Report estimates the differences in incomes between countries account for only one-eighth of the variation in happiness. So, if money isn't everything when it comes to happiness, what else makes us happy?

There are a host of other factors, such as mental and physical health, education, social security, personal safety and freedoms, and degree of corruption in business and government. They each have a significant impact on our well-being.

Canada leads the U.S. in many of these happiness stimulators:

-- The U.S. divorce rate is nearly twice as high as ours.

-- Four times as many Americans use speed; 66% more smoke weed.

-- We live an average of three years longer.

-- Americans are twice as obese as Canadians.

-- We spend half as much per-capita on health care and still enjoy universal coverage.

-- The American child poverty rate is 46% higher than ours.

-- There are six times more Americans than Canadians per capita in jail.

-- We have a higher percentage of people with post-secondary degrees.

-- Canada is the eighth most peaceful country in the world; America is the 100th.

Of course, the country you live in is only one determinant of your well-being. Happiness scientists (yes, there's a growing number of them) have found that about half of our happiness is pre-determined by genetics. We all seem to have a pre-disposition to a particular level of happiness.

Good and bad things will increase and decrease your happiness. But, before too long, your sense of well-being will move back to your happiness set point. It's encoded in your genes.

It works much in the same way as a car spring. The spring expands and compresses as the car drives over bumps in the road, but the spring always returns to its pre-set tension point.

In her book, The How of Happiness, psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky provides some interesting insights into how happiness works. For example, acts of kindness make people feel happier, but only if they don't have to perform the same act too often. Apparently, renters are happier than homeowners. Interrupting enjoyable experiences can make those experiences even more pleasurable.

Unhappy people compare a lot, and care about the results. They feel better, even with poor personal results, if they learn that others have done worse. They tend to over-rationalize their circumstances.

Happy people, on the other hand, focus more on the positive aspects of their circumstances, whatever they are.

Living in Canada helps. So does doing things you enjoy. But you have your parents to thank for your built-in happiness set point, whatever it is.

— R. Michael Warren is a former corporate director, Ontario deputy minister, TTC chief general manager and Canada Post CEO.

r.michael.warren@gmail.com

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HAPPY, EH?

2: Canada's happiness ranking in a world Gallup survey in 2012

7.7: How we rated our life satisfaction, out of 10, in same survey

5: Canada's ranking in a UN global happiness report the same year