"Tap dancing to work”

Warren Buffett, global happiness rankings, and the not-so-secret ingredients of a good life.

In our quest for a well-lived life, we look to others and ask: Who is happy? How did they got so lucky? Who isn’t? Why not?

Two major global studies with different approaches to human well-being and significantly different results in their country rankings have recently been published. First came the World Happiness Report (WHR), followed last week by the Global Flourishing Study (GFS).

And then, "simple living” billionaire Warren Buffett, who has long said his happiness comes from enjoying his work and relationships, not financial success, announced his retirement.

At 94, Buffett's work life lasted about 75 years. When asked how he lasted so long, he always had the same answer: He loved his work.

Many years ago, following a speech at the University of Florida, a Harvard student who already had an impressive resumé told Buffett he was planning on accepting a job offer he didn't much care for because it would look good. Buffett responded: "Look, you are 28 and you have been doing all these things. You have a resume 20 times longer than anybody I have ever seen. Isn't that a little like saving up sex for your old age?"¹

Why do we wait? Let's dive in.

The Two Rankings

In case you missed it, here's a quick recap:

Brand new, the Global Flourishing Study (GFS) is a broad picture of how life is going in 22 countries included in this first wave. Its Flourishing Index is the result of a composite score based on happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close relationships.

Using a 0 to 10 scale (10 = thriving on all fronts), top scores went to Indonesia (8.7), Mexico (8.19), and the Philippines (8.11). Lowest? Japan (5.93), Turkey (6.59), and the UK (6.88).

On the other hand, the World Happiness Report (WHR) has been around for over a decade. It’s more about perception and is based on answers to a single question from Gallup. The question asks you to imagine a 1-10 ladder and which step of the ladder you feel you stand at this time.

As they always do, Nordic countries are standing on the higher steps of that ladder: Finland (1), Denmark (2), Iceland (3), Sweden (4). The UK is 23rd, the US is 24th. Brazil is 36th. Turkey lands at 105th.

With Differences Like This, Should We Look to Finland or Indonesia for Guidance?

Both. Which is where Buffett comes in. (I swear I have a point!)

The differences in rankings can be explained by what each study measures and how it measures it. Their lists make good clickbait (most people know Finland tops the happiness charts, where it's been for eight years!).

However, once you dig in, you see that both reports align on three core ingredients for a well-lived life.

1. Financial and material stability matter.
No surprise here: both studies link well-being to economic resources. The GFS identifies financial stability as a strong predictor of flourishing across all countries. The WHR includes GDP per capita as one of six key variables explaining national life evaluations.

2. Social bonds are essential.
The GFS includes close relationships as one of its core domains and notes that participating in group activities is linked to greater flourishing. The WHR agrees: social support (like having someone to count on) is a major contributor to happiness. Even regularly sharing meals with someone shows up as meaningful.

3. Giving beyond your circle contributes to well-being.
One of my favorite WHR variables is generosity, and both studies underscore that contributing to others, by giving time, money, or care, boosts well-being.

This brings me, finally, to Buffett, who checks all three boxes. He has more financial security than most nations. He’s rich in relationships: two loving marriages, trusted partnerships with his team members, and a loyal Berkshire Hathaway community that borders on spiritual. And while we can debate billionaire philanthropy, Buffett pledged to give away more than 99% of his wealth and co-founded (with Bill and Melinda Gates) the Giving Pledge to get other billionaires to do the same.

Buffett's Inner/Outer Scorecard

Buffett's "system” for measuring how we're doing is based on an "inner and outer scorecard.”

The big question about how people behave is whether they’ve got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard. I always pose it this way. I say: ‘Lookit. Would you rather be the world’s greatest lover, but have everyone think you’re the world’s worst lover? Or would you rather be the world’s worst lover but have everyone think you’re the world’s greatest lover?’²

• The inner scorecard is how you measure how you are doing based on your own standards and values, independent of external opinion.

• The outer scorecard is a measure of how you are doing based on our need for external validation and our desire for praise and admiration.

When speaking about the Scorecard and his work at Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett said, "When I go to my office every morning, I feel like I'm going to the Sistine Chapel to paint and Berkshire Hathaway is my canvas".

The two reports echo Buffett’s Scorecard idea in subtle ways. The Happiness Report is more of an “Outer Scorecard”; its results are based on how people rate their lives in relation to steps in a ladder that has upside and downside. It's how things look or feel in comparison to others.

The GFS's broader perspective assesses how the parts of your life—e.g., relationships, purpose, and mental and physical health—are actually functioning. It asks: Are you living well by your own measure of what a good life should be?

[K]Now You: So what?

We've read so much about Buffett's success and wonderfully/apparently quaint life (McDonalds for breakfast every day and he made it to 90?), that he's become a bit of a caricature of what we all aspire to: loving what we do, being great at it, and being genuinely kind. And eating McDonald’s for breakfast every morning without suffering the consequences.

Here’s how he’s described his work life over the years:
"I tap dance to work every day."
"I get to do what I love every day with people I like. I’ve never had a bad day."
“I would do this job for free. I’m not interested in cars, and my goal is not to make people envious.”
"Take the job that you would take if you were independently wealthy, and you're going to do well at it."

The odds that you or I will ever be that wealthy and that pleased with ourselves are small. Very small.

We will wrestle with liking our jobs, worry about what other people think, and often be "just too tired" to be generous.

More studies about living a life worth living will come out. More rankings about where this country stands vis-à-vis some other place

We’ll feel jealous of the Finns and, even if given the chance, won't move there, where, in winter, they get 5–6 hours of daylight!

And those new studies? They’ll keep landing in the same place:

• We need financial stability.

• We need a solid social foundation.

• And we need to feel good about doing good.

You see, it's not complicated at all. We already know what it takes. We don’t need another checklist of happiness habits.

All we need is permission to define success on our own terms.

1. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/warren-buffett-take-job-you-love-2016-04-22

2. https://fs.blog/warren-buffett-the-snowball/