International Day of Happiness 2021
Did you know Finland is ranked the world’s happiest country? The annual United Nations World Happiness Report also named the Nordic capital Helsinki as the happiest city in 2020. International Day of Happiness is celebrated this Saturday, March 20th. This year’s motto is “Keep Calm. Stay Wise. Be Kind.” It’s a day aimed to spread kindness globally and is coordinated by Action for Happiness. What do you know about it? Read on to find out more.
When is it?
International Day of Happiness falls on March 20th 2021. It launched back in 2013 and occurs annually at the start of spring. The founder of the special day, Jayme Illien – a UN special advisor – created it to emphasize happiness as “a goal for all human beings” and, after being backed by 193 UN member states it’s now a globally recognised event. Promoting positivity and kindness is at the heart of it.
What is the theme in 2021?
This year the International Day of Happiness motto is: “Keep Calm. Stay Wise. Be Kind.” Due to the global crisis, the focus in 2021 is on seeking positivity and taking care of ourselves and our neighbours. The celebration highlights how the three actions can help us all during challenging times. Keeping calm helps us to gain a better perspective; staying wise and choosing positivity benefits the whole community; being kind is crucial as we are all in the same storm – but in different boats. There are some excellent resources on the website such as a ‘Coping Calendar’ with daily wellbeing tips and an intensive coaching program.
How can we celebrate it?
On International Day of Happiness people share inspiring posts on social media platforms with the #InternationalDayOfHappiness hashtag and there is normally an event schedule. Previous campaigns have encouraged people to share authentic, real photos on social media of what makes them happy – rather than the unrealistic edited ones that we see daily – to ‘reclaim happiness’.
We think this year the campaign is more important than ever given the past year and hope it will put supporting community in the spotlight.
Are you finding it tough navigating daily challenges during the pandemic? At VQ Together, we are offering free 15-minute consultations with our lead practitioner specialising in talking therapies such as CBT and DBT. Contact us here to explore this further.
Read our blog about positive habits here.
