The Pursuit of Happiness

In 2011, the United Nations passed Resolution 65/309, which led to the creation of the World Happiness Report. It’s a joint effort by the UN and Oxford University with data from 140 countries collected by Gallup. The data is analyzed by social scientists, and a report is released every March 20th – World Happiness Day.

I’ve just read the 2025 Report “The State of World Happiness,” and it made me sad. Not surprisingly, Afghanistan ranks dead last in happiness, at #140. The United States has dropped from the 11th happiest country in the world to the 24th in the last four years. (During the first year of COVID-19 in 2020, we actually rose on the happiness scale.) We now rank the lowest since the report was first written in 2011. This is an abject failure for a country that was founded on the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

I did find some really interesting and amazing information on the root causes of our collective drop in happiness. The reasons are varied but mostly centered around the accelerating trend of social isolation.

• Rise in “deaths of despair” (depression and drug use)
• Decline in social support systems (family & social groups)
• Lack of confidence in public institutions (high crime and distrust of government)

The report cites several factors contributing to our collective unhappiness, but it also has some surprising research on how a few simple behavior changes can boost our individual happiness – and the happiness of friends, family, colleagues and neighbors.

The single biggest thing we can do to be happy is TO BE with our friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors. Americans spend more time alone than almost any other developed nation, and the trend is accelerating. We’re spending less time with family and friends, less time in social settings and more time isolated in our work. 53% of Americans in the Gallup poll reported they ate most of their meals alone the previous day. 

Social scientists say one of the biggest drivers in increasing our happiness is sitting at a table with others and eating a meal. It was such a huge driver to support individual happiness that the authors wrote an entire 92-page chapter on the topic.

Having a bite with Mom. Sitting at the dining room table once a week. Going out with friends for lunch. Date night at the neighborhood restaurant. I’m not saying this cures all of our ills, but if social isolation is the root cause of unhappiness, then why not make one small behavior change and share a meal with others? 

Does anyone want to join me for lunch? I know a great little diner in the Museum District called Texas Inn. I’m serious. Email me. “Let’s do lunch.”