Helen Russell > Quotes

“... if you're not happy with who you're waking up with most mornings, make a change -- if you want something (or someone) else, go for it.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“I am not important. If I take a break, no one dies. And this is A Good Thing.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“in the US and the UK we’d fought for more money at work, Scandinavians had fought for more time – for family leave, leisure and a decent work-life balance.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“It’s no wonder Danes are so happy. They have an obscenely good quality of life. Yes, it’s expensive here. But it’s Denmark – it’s worth it. I don’t mind paying more for a coffee here because I know that it means the person serving me doesn’t a) hate me or b) have a crappy life. Everyone is paid a decent wage, everyone is looked after, and everyone pays their taxes, just as I pay mine. And if we all have marginally less money to buy more stuff that we don’t really need anyway as a result, well I’m starting to think it’s a deal worth making.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Psychologists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, found that the better educated and wealthier a nation is, the less likely its population is to believe in a higher being. The Global Index of Religion and Atheism also assessed that poverty was a key indicator of a society’s tendency towards religion – so that poorer countries tend to be the most religious. The one exception to the rule? America. But in the strongly religious USA, despite the country’s wealth, there’s no universal healthcare, little job security, and a flimsy social welfare safety net. This means that the USA has a lot more in common with developing countries than she might like to think. Researchers from the University of British Columbia suggest that people are less likely to need the comfort of a god if they’re living somewhere stable, safe and prosperous.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“You’re more likely to be able to get on in life, get educated, and get a good job, regardless of who your parents are and what they do in Denmark than anywhere else. It turns out that it’s easier to live ‘The American Dream’ here than it’s ever likely to be in the US.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Danes do have a good work-life balance on the whole. ‘And if we don’t, we usually do something about it. You ask yourself, “are you happy where you are?” If the answer’s “yes” then you stay. If it’s “no”, you leave. We recognise that how you choose to spend the majority of your time is important. For me, it’s the simple life – spending more time in nature and with family. If you work too hard, you get stressed, then you get sick, and then you can’t work at all.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“There is not truly bad weather, just bad clothes.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Being an immigrant is not for sissies.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“being a part of a club helps you to be an active person, involved in community life and with a sense of responsibility for the collective. This is important for developing a society of trust.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“That you can work and work to build up your bank balance and then end up spending it all to outsource your life, buying back your sanity and bribing yourself to keep on going. Over a certain basic threshold, it’s simple life maths: Fewer new shiny things = fewer hours overtime = happier life.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Unlike in the US and the UK, where already stressed out and underpaid women were being told to ‘lean in’ and do more, it looked like you could pretty much lean any way you fancied in Denmark and still do OK. Oh, and women weren’t handed sticks to beat themselves with if they weren’t ‘having it all’. This, I decided, was refreshing.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“With a focus on creativity in schools and nurturing future job talent, many Danes are getting a leg-up right to the summit of the triangle. By contrast, some developed countries haven’t even got past the second rung of ‘safety’ – with no healthcare or job security (hello, USA).”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“simple life maths: Fewer new shiny things = fewer hours overtime = happier life. So”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“No,’ he says very firmly. ‘It doesn’t matter how good a drummer, singer, or trombone-mimer you are, bragging about anything is bad form. They have a mantra in the business – “Lego over ego” – and people follow it.’ He tells me that he and his fellow non-Danes have been guided towards the writings of a 1930s Danish-Norwegian author, Aksel Sandemose, for a better understanding of how best to ‘integrate’ into the workplace in Denmark. Sandemose outlines ten rules for living Danishly (otherwise known as ‘Jante’s Law’) in his novel, A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks. These, as far as Google Translate and I can make out, are: You’re not to think you are anything special You’re not to think you are as good as we are You’re not to think you are smarter than us You’re not to convince yourself that you are better than us You’re not to think you know more than us You’re not to think you are more important than us You’re not to think you are good at anything You’re not to laugh at us You’re not to think anyone cares about you You’re not to think you can teach us anything ‘Crikey, you’re not to do much round here, are you?’ ‘Oh, and there’s another, unspoken one.’ ‘Yes?’ ‘“Don’t put up with presenteeism”. If anyone plays the martyr card, staying late or working too much, they’re more likely to get a leaflet about efficiency or time management dropped on their desk than any sympathy.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“I understand that success and happiness should be measured by something other than money. That you can work and work to build up your bank balance and then end up spending it all to outsource your life, buying back your sanity and bribing yourself to keep on going.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Happiness is the things you possess divided by the things you expect.”
― Helen Russell, The Atlas of Happiness: The Global Secrets of How to Be Happy

“Psychologists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, found that the better educated and wealthier a nation is, the less likely its population is to believe in a higher being. The Global Index of Religion and Atheism also assessed that poverty was a key indicator of a society's tendency towards religion - so that poorer countries tend to be the most religious. The one exception to the rule? America. But in the strongly religious USA, despite the country's wealth, there's no universal healthcare, little job security, and a flimsy social welfare safety net. This means that the USA has a lot more in common with developing countries than she might like to think.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Vikings, it seems, make their own way.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Psychologists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, found that the better educated and wealthier a nation is, the less likely its population is to believe in a higher being.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Being too thin isn't particularly desirable here. Women eat.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“We teach children to think and decide for themselves, not just pass exams,’ she says first off. ‘Education here is about developing the social and cognitive competencies of a child and experience-based learning. We encourage them to be critical towards the system.’ She tells me that education and democracy have been tied together in Denmark since the Second World War: ‘Children started to be encouraged to think and go against authority if they didn’t agree with what they were being told – this became a priority after the German occupation of Denmark and was something Danes were very conscious of. We wanted citizens who were democratic and could have their own ideas, so self-development is a big part of learning in Denmark.’ ‘So Hitler drove the Danes to teach their schoolkids to question authority?’ ‘Pretty much.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Just as London is not really England, Copenhagen is not, I am reliably informed, ‘the real Denmark’.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“And since moving jobs has no effect on pension entitlements or earned holiday time, there are no barriers to changing employer in”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“wondering how on earth hospital staff have seen fit to allow us custody of an actual human being. (Me: ‘I can’t even keep our houseplants alive!’ Lego Man: ‘We have houseplants?’)”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“When he puts it like this, it sounds surprisingly sensible. Danes have a collective sense of responsibility – of belonging, even. They pay into the system because they believe it to be worthwhile. The insanely high taxation also has some happy side effects. It means that Denmark has the lowest income inequality among all the OECD countries, so the difference in take-home wages between, for instance, Lego’s CEO and its lowliest cleaner, isn’t as vast as it might be elsewhere. Studies show that people who live in neighbourhoods where most people earn about the same amount are happier, according to research from San Francisco State University and the University of California Berkeley. In Denmark, even people working in wildly different fields will probably have a similar amount left in the bank each month after tax. I’m interested in the idea that income equality makes for better neighbours and want to put it to the test. But since I live in what is essentially a retirement village, where no one apart from Friendly Neighbour works, there isn’t much of an opportunity in Sticksville. So I ask Helena C about hers. She tells me that the street she lives in is populated by shop assistants, supermarket workers, accountants, lawyers, marketers and a landscape gardener. ‘Everyone has a nice home and a good quality of life,’ she says, ‘it doesn’t matter so much what you do for work here.’ Regardless of their various careers and the earning potential that this might afford them in other countries with lower taxes, professionals and non-professionals live harmoniously side by side in Denmark. This also makes social mobility easier, according to studies from The Equality Trust on the impact of income equality. So you’re more likely to be able to get on in life, get educated and get a good job, regardless of who your parents are and what they do in Denmark than anywhere else. It turns out that it’s easier to live ‘The American Dream’ here than it’s ever likely to be in the US.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“it’s a free country, a woman can drink-garden if she wants to…”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“Being an immigrant is not for the admin-phobic.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“I look up the Danish word for accountant. It is, according to my translation app, ‘bogholder’, which cheers up my morning of taxes immeasurably.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country

“The Worldwatch Institute’s 2011 State of Consumption report also found that wealth won’t help you on your way to having a satisfying life and new research shows that there’s even a cut-off point for the amount of income we need to be content. A combined study from the Universities of Warwick and Minnesota found that there was a basic threshold beyond which any extra money added nothing to levels of well-being. The figure is around 197,000 DKK a year (£22,000 or $36,000), after which we apparently get wealthier but less contented.”
― Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country