Researchers from the Finnish Medical Association Duodecim examined findings from Yle’s mental and physical wellbeing programme “Life at Stake” (Elämä Pelissä).
They found that people with positive attitudes earned as much as one-third more than their more pessimistic peers. At the same time, their sense of happiness did not come from money.
The theme of the third season of Yle’s Life at Stake programme focuses on developing the ability to better tolerate everyday reversals and turning negative attitudes into positive ones.
According to the Finnish Medical Association Duodecim, the life expectancy for people who have a negative view of the future can be up to ten years shorter of those who have a more positive outlook.
“It’s a question of attitudes that are linked to happiness and psychological well-being. It’s about how much value we place on our lives and how thankful we are for everything we have or experience,” said Duodecim chief executive Pekka Mustonen.
Positive attitudes have a direct impact on income. Those fortunate enough to have upbeat dispositions earn on average 10,000 euros more annually than their down-in-the-mouth peers. Interestingly, even optimistic types with low incomes are more content than negative-minded high income earners.
The findings of the research are supported by results from similar studies carried out in other western countries, and which also show that income is not an indicator for happiness.
Among the subjects who participated in the Yle programme, the poorest quartile scored an average 64 points on the happiness index, while the richest quartile scored an average 69 out of a maximum of 100 points.
More positive thinkers were found among higher income earners that among low income groups. However there did not appear to be any correlation between levels of education and whether or not the subjects were optimists or pessimists.
Roughly 60 percent of the more than 100,000 Finns who responded to the survey described themselves as positive.
