Happiness is a skill you can learn according to Visit Finland. Photo / Unsplash
Happiness is a skill you can learn according to Visit Finland. Photo / Unsplash
Happiness is a fickle thing but if any country would know how to find joy, it’s probably Finland.
Famous for being named the world’s happiest country for five years running, Finland is finally sharing its secret happiness skills with the world.
Visit Finland, the national tourism organisation, has launched a campaign to promote the country by offering a ‘Masterclass of Happiness’.
The catch? Only ten people can win a spot to the exclusive in-person retreat.
Participants will receive in-person coaching on how to discover their inner happiness ‘the Finnish way’ during a four-day masterclass in Finnish Lakeland, this June.
After travelling to Kuru Resort (with costs covered by Visit Finland), participants will be coached by experts on four key themes: nature and lifestyle, health and balance, design and everyday, and food and wellbeing.
The event operates on the philosophy that happiness is not some mystical state but a skill you can learn.
It’s also a skill Visit Finland believes people desperately need.
“According to the global Oracle Happiness Report of 2022, 45% of people have not felt true happiness in more than two years and 25% don’t know or have forgotten what it means to feel truly happy,” the organisation said in a statement on the campaign.
Finland isn't short of stunning natural scenes to evoke happiness. Photo / File
If you miss out on the chance to learn from the experts in real life, don’t worry; Visit Finland said the Masterclass of Happiness will be available online later in the year.
Business FInland’s senior director Heli Jimenez said the course could demystify happiness and help people achieve it.
“A question we often get is: ‘How are you so happy?’ We believe Finnish happiness stems from a close relationship with nature and our down-to-earth lifestyle: it’s not some mystical state, but a skill that can be learned and shared,” he said.
“We want to help people find and master that Finnish state of mind. We’ve chosen the best coaches, one of the most breath-taking resorts in Finland, and a time in the early summer amid the beautiful Finnish nature for our masterclass.”
Applications for the masterclass are open until April 2, 2023 via an online form.
Applications for Visit Finland’s Masterclass in Happiness are open now. To apply for free, see www.findyourinnerfinn.com
