I spent 48 hours in Finland—here are 5 life-changing lessons I learned in the world’s happiest country
This past December, my husband, our three boys and I went for a whirlwind two-day trip to Finland. As soon as we arrived, our driver told us with enthusiasm: “Sunrise is at noon, and sunset is around 3:30 p.m.!”
I stared at him in disbelief. Finland is regularly ranked as the happiest country in the world. “How is everyone so happy when you get almost no daylight for months?” I wondered. “Why aren’t you all super depressed?” I proceeded to ask literally everyone we met there.
As a New Yorker who recently uprooted my family for a European life in sunny Lisbon, where I spend my days coaching entrepreneurs on how to tell better stories, nothing prepared me for this low daylight, high happiness paradox.
Here are a few lessons I learned that weekend that have changed my views on work and life:
- Less time means better focus
When our driver casually mentioned that “in winter, we need more rest anyway,” it challenged everything I knew about productivity as an entrepreneur coming from New York’s hustle culture.
Despite the dark winter, Finland has a productive economy that is one of the world’s most innovative.
I realized shorter days can mean more focused meetings, more intentional projects and an acceptance that winter energy is different. You can’t do as much in the winter, and that’s OK.
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I’m living this right now with my AI storytelling tool side project. Instead of marathon content creation sessions I don’t have the bandwidth for, I carve out just one hour, three mornings a week to create a few high-impact pieces (posts, emails or videos).
The result? Better content. When you only have an hour, you don’t have time to procrastinate or overthink.
- You can achieve success without chasing likes and followers
When we met Erika, our husky sledding guide who’d just returned from a 10-day, 1,200-kilometer race with her dogs, she told us she was booked solid for the rest of the season.
She has no content or SEO strategy and no real social media presence. But anyone who meets Erika ends up telling everyone they know about her. Her passion for her dogs and genuine stories are more effective than any contrived marketing strategy.
