I've struggled with happiness. So I went to the happiest part of the world. Ft.
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2021
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You're the king of story-telling, Mr. Drew. Oh my goodness, this was so special! Seeing our friends and family in one of your videos - how cool! Thanks for letting me see this beautiful country in a new light 🌻
I clicked to see you 😍. And, the cycling = exercise = commute part was really great. I hope whole world starts travelling by cycle more & more within the city perimeters.
I absolutely love drew
@@DyslexicMitochondria Hey bro I watch ur videos. Love your channeI
You guys are so inspiring! I absolutely want to meet you all one day :) you are all legends
@@labellajo1918 yeah same here!
"It's not a bad thing to celebrate a simple life."
- Bilbo Baggins
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song over hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."
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lol iroh from avatar also said that
“Sorry! I don't want any adventures, thank you. Not Today. Good morning! But please come to tea -any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Good bye!”
@@picklejuice8210 I only remembered the gist of it, then I had to google :D but this to me is happiness hehe
Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness. - Zhuangzi
well said
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Or it is depression.
To attain eternal happiness one must suffer. He who has reached the state of self-sacrifice has true joy. Temporal joy will vanish
Happiness is fake peace so it’s not real.
What you should be looking for is perfect peace.
This way it won’t matter where you are or what you doing.
It won’t have any effect on your state of being.
This is freedom.
I know a man, here in Brazil, that likes to explain hapiness as "owning a bike and not wanting two"
If it's a 30.000 euro Ducati, you have no need for a second bike. Also you can't afford a second bike :)))
nunca tinha escutado isso. É bem bonita essa expressão.
Wow, thank you for this. I absolutely loved that
i feel like i don't get it ): could someone explain?
felicidade no Brasil é chegar e descobrir que a bicicleta não foi roubada ainda :')
People Think That They Are Searching For Happiness,
But They Are Actually Searching For Peace.
-Naval Ravikant
💯
I agree!
Being around good people can do wonders for our mental health. After all, most of our behaviour is just imitation!
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"What makes you happy?"
"Seeing you only once a week" 💀
That was awesome lol.
It seems only dutch people can say this to each other and still have a good laugh about it :D (we're the kings of sarcasm, irony and cinicism)
@@caveymon wth every country people think they are special its quite funny
The laugh everyone had after Laurens explains gezelligheid is actualy the best defenition of gezelligheid
Exactly!!
Its crazy how well spoken everybody is even though its not their native language!
I think the biggest reason why is because don't dub the series on TV. We subtitle everything. So thankful for that!
In my experience, people in the Netherlands, Belgium, and pretty much all Scandinavian countries speak perfect English. Meanwhile, here in Germany literally everything has really bad dubs and people barely hear spoken English if they don't seek it out on UA-cam etc.
I'm from Finland (so not Dutch) and English is part of our curriculum (mandatory) since grade 3 and it goes on until grade 9. Subsequently, Swedish is mandatory from 7th to 9th grade because Swedish is our second official language. I also studied German for two years in my teens. Even after that English and Swedish (and also other voluntary languages) are part of the curriculum in schools we attend, so that has a lot to do with why people around here speak English pretty well. We've never dubbed films either so we hear the language constantly (we have subtitles on tv/films) so that's a big advantage compared to countries that dub everything. It's almost impossible to avoid English if you are interested in something these days, beyond what goes on in your own country at least. The way English is in our curriculum as mandatory is a direct result of the fact that this is pretty much the only place where people speak Finnish so no one would understand us outside of our country. So it becomes a necessity to learn a universal language even if just for traveling reasons or interacting with foreign friends, and even more so if you entertain career options, studying or living abroad. I have to say I wasn't very good when I was younger but I got the basics to build on in school and picked up the rest later by reading English books and magazines, listening to English music, watching English movies and shows, always checking the meanings of words or phrases I might not recognize and of course through interaction with English speaking friends be they in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland or elsewhere. While my native language is indeed Finnish, I've realized these days I use more English and it's very easy for me to express myself with it (to a point that now when I need to find the Finnish equivalent of a word or expression, my brain struggles to find it, lol)
Well, really it's not crazy because it's required in their curriculum from a very early age.
@@relicofgold from 12, not that early
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien
Agree with Tolkien because above all else happiness has a simplicity about it…it has an air of common-ness… which many people try to “rise above,” to only find themselves looking down on life…then happiness, like gossamer,…vanishes.
He was also catholic btw.
@@sharongillesp true happiness is when you don't need money. It's hard to be happy when you have work a mind numbing, unfulfilling 9 to 5
True people are all MATERIAL. People only speak when they need something or want what you have. People are toxic. Then you wonder about health issues majority people have...
@@kubasniak I don't see how it matters.
we need to remember that being happy is a mood, you cannot maintain the same mood forever, it's okay to be sad
I disagree. I think “being” happy is different than “feeling” happy. You can not feel happy all the time, but you can be happy while feeling sad.
I think happiness is just an overal satisfaction of life.
@@damianr98 ok I suppose I meant "you cannot feel happy all the time"
Was just looking for this
comment.… I believe the same
too... :-)) we all have moods and they’re like the waves of the sea… sometimes high, sometimes low… crests of happiness and troughs of sadness… and that it’s normal to be sad… it’s a part of life… as they say, it’s okay not to be okay… :-))
As a Dutchie this was so refreshing to see. For some reason, seeing my own country through other people's eyes, really showed me how unique and wonderful it is. It made me smile and so grateful. Whenever I feel sad, I'll go back to this video to remind me of all the happy little things in life.🌻
We become so lost by the abundance of options and forget that happiness is an inside job.
I think there are two things that make a country happy: one is relative political and economic stability - which makes your life more or less predictable, safe, the other one is mentality - the ability to celebrate simple things: family, friends, good food, nature
Absolutely true, plus in many nations that are trying to come up economically and ones who already are super powers there is alot on an individual especially in corporate sector to perform. The stress of work is paramount with numerous targets and deadlines. How can one be happy in that environment. As for being happy one has to have a relaxed state of mind.
Yes! It's all about a balance - locally grown organic food, strong social connections, spending time outdoors, being active every day, and a slower pace of life - spending a lot of time with family, friends, pets and having the time to do things you love (not just work!). This is exactly the life they live in the Blue Zones - areas with the highest numbers of centenarians. They are the healthiest people live who live the longest: parts of Italy, Greece, Japan and California.
What an amazing video, congrats! As an architect, I couldn't stop thinking, specially because you included beautiful clips of the streets and buildings, that the european architectural core of knowledge also has a very important impact on people's happiness. These old cities, where everything is reachable by foot or by bike, give us humans a great sense of independency but also protection and an impression of belonging to the community that surrounds us, which cannot be ignored when talking about being/feeling happy. Humancentric urban planning is often forgotten but for me it is a key factor that many happy countries do have in common :) Wishing you a wonderful week and very curious for the content that is coming!
I see videos like this so much more different now that I am indeed happy. My marriage is healthy and strong, my chronic illnesses are mostly under control, I am FINALLY living in a home just the two of us and I feel comfortable and safe. This wasn't true a few months ago and I was not happy.
is it just me or nathaniel videos feels like "the safest place" in the entire world
Totally!! His story telling is right on ✨✨✨
As a Dutchman, it's always nice to see my country through the eyes of a foreigner. So many of the things you describe in this video are so normal for me that I don't even think about it anymore. I hope you'll come back for more visits to this country!
Can you give an example of what’s normal for you?
@@caterinas6863 lol, everything mentioned in the video. We'll take it for granted at times i guess.
@@caterinas6863 Cycling everywhere is a well-known example of something that's normal to us, but completely bonkers for other people around the world.
Going for beers is also something we just "do". Also known as "borrelen" (going for drinks). We'll typically have a few beers along with some deep fried snacks such as bitterballen (crunchy balls with a ragu filling).
@@Lucas_S91 trust me we go for beers a lot in England... but yes, the cycling is really interesting!
Biking to work would be nice, but the traffic is so crazy in the UK cities.
I live in the Netherlands and from my perspective, I definitely wouldn't say it's the happiest place. I meet lots and lots of people that seem to live very miserable and depressed states day in day out.
And I noticed that after living here for years (for school and work) whenever I go back to my home country of Kenya, I notice that people over there, despite lots of economic issues that impact their lives, seem to be much more genuinely happy. A huge reason for that is a large sense of family, even with people you just met.
Here in the Netherlands everyone feels a little isolated. A lot of people are always friendly and open, which feels like a natural state, but dont necessarily truly let you in, which makes relationships feel very cold.
THIS. Stop shilling European countries for their happiness. Its ridiculous money grabber. Like this book Hygge: The Danish Secrets of Happiness ... and making statements that some country is the happiest in the world. I don't know if its EU is doing this or what.Maybe they wanted to lure everyone in... no idea.
@@Aserejerettt I dont think theres a big marketing plan behind it on a governmental level, it's just that there is a demand for this in western societies. We all live such highly individualistic lives and there is the idea that you can and should fix everything that is "wrong" in your life and that that is up to you as an individual. If you try hard enough you can bend life to your wishes, that's the idea. So we read all these self help books and try to find the holy grail that will solve all our problems. We have so much ofcourse, in the west, but we always want more, bigger and better. So all these books that promise a certain life philosophy, a "meaning" and way to improve are highly marketable these days
I'm Dutch myself and recognise exactly what you say. As being one who had to burst that bubble of isolation and depressed state, I can genuinely agree with how we ourselves play a big part in that, as well as our culture. One thing I also notice having grown up in the Netherlands is the lack of nature and the importance of it on your well-being. We are one of the most, if not the most, densely populated countries in the world and barely have any ground that is wild forests or wild natured. We only have highly cultivated and multibillionaire farms/agriculture, which you don't really get to walk around anyway.
Once I moved away and lived for a year in the countryside of France did I truly recognise how invaluable nature is to the human conditioning. I knew it from spending summers in rainforests that I'd never experienced home until then, but -living- for a longer period of time in a place where there's nature all around changed my understanding. We are Nature.
I was quite surprised to see my country being visited in this particular video!
Though, admittedly, since moving away I also have rejoiced in the beautiful things back home. One indeed being my family. We've gained a more intimate, loving and joyful harmony within my family over the past years and it's an enrichment I wish to continue within myself.
oh the word living shouldn't be crossed out, I tried to make more of a statement out of the word than annulling it :)
I live in Alsace, France and same, I also feel lonely cuz I never cam make any long lasting friends, only Kith in school etc
You can be happy anywhere in this world (where there is no war) because it is based on "work" life balance with exercises, good food, good sleep and good relationships with a sense of security. I was happy living in a small bedroom when I was boy and having a bigger bedroom today in a different country doesn't make me more or less happy. Enjoy the little things in life is the secret!
“The more you pursue feeling better all the time, the less satisfied you become, as pursuing something only reinforces the fact that you lack it in the first place.” - Mark Manson
Could have been written by Jacques Lacan!
This totally hits home…spending a lot of time trying to be happier watching self help videos, listening to self help audiobooks and working on depression care programs…Any tips on how to just let go are appreciated!
@@jhallock You have to realize that happiness is a feeling not a goal like how its advertised. Self-help books can be a trap in itself where you’ll always try to fix yourself when you should know that you are enough and its ok that you’re not perfect and you’re taking time to know yourself. Also forgive yourself. Try trauma therapy if it helps most of the times our childhood causes a lot of pain than we realize or try to find the right therapist for you. I wish you well and don’t hesitate to message me.
@@marcrichard7417 thanks Marc, I’ve heard that saying before but didn’t take it seriously, I’ll try to keep that in mind! Funny you mention that because I just had my second call with a new counsellor yesterday and he wanted to know more about childhood stuff but I wasn’t able to give him any information because I’ve totally forgotten those years of my life when my parents divorced and was bullied
@@jhallock yes being bullied and having divorced parents can create trauma, and do find the time to reflect your history and you’ll hopefully know how you love or just to have a better grasp of why you are the way you are. There a few who specialize in this like childhood trauma, therapists dont really dig down but they usually ask how you were raised to better understand how to deal with your emotions and overall self as trauma usually stays longer within us. Its a never ending journey with healing, and i hope you find the right people
MY VIEW ON LIFE BEING SICK: I hope this helps some people
CULTURE
I’m Belgian and I lived in the Netherlands for over a year until I got sick. I made a lot of international friends: Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Lebanese, Middle-Eastern, South-African, German, Norwegians, Spanish, Italian and French. In my experience I didn’t have the feeling that Nordic people were the happiest of the countries in Europe. If I had to pick the happiest people I would say my Spanish and Italian friends. Mainly because they enjoy the little moments during the day way more, see a lot of sun and because there is a real culture imbedded in their DNA.
As far as Northern I do think the Dutch stand out. And believe me Belgians aren’t usually that positive about the Dutch. But I love them. The dutch are very positive, open minded and in general outgoing people.
DISEASE
I’ve been sick for about 7 months now, had surgery and spend a lot of time alone not being able to do anything but think. In my experience I believe comparison kills happiness and I don’t think searching for happiness is good way to spend your time. It's like searching for 'magic'. Most feelings are the result of doing/creating something. When you are limited in the sense that your body can’t follow what your mind desires extreme boredom and depression sink in. There’s a feeling of being scared that you never will get out of this difficult period of your life. The only thing you want is to DO things. I realize now more than ever that life is about three main things listed below. Everything else is bullshit and fake made up structure by people who don’t realize what life really is about. People should actually age backwards. First we shouldn't have any abilities and deeply crave the abilities we normally have early in life. As you get younger you should be able to walk normal again, see properly, hear well, taste and so on. Then you would be grateful for what you can do and not crave for superficial things.
DEATH
You should not fear death. You should fear not having started to live at all. Your body and energy are extremely fragile. You only realize this when it's taken away. Most people only realize this right before they die. If someone reads this that is sick. Your sickness has positivity to it. Most people understand the fragility of life but are not able to internalize it. You can. When death comes, you should smile back at it because you know you experienced a great life. The only things I can think about now what I want to do once I get better before I would die are the things below. I would give all the money I have to be able to live normal capable life again. In my view life is about these three things:
WHAT LIFE REALLY IS ABOUT
1) Doing what you’re passionate about every day and growing with your passion. (Not chasing money) (If you don't know your passion that is what you should search for.)
= this is Contributing, Fulfilling your purpose and Creating things which result in positivity
2) Experiencing and discovering the intense beauty and magic of this reality (beautiful and amazing natural world, animals, stars, universe, humans …)
3) Dancing, singing, laughing, tasting a great meal, playing music, playing in general, making love … Doing the things that make you forget about the future and the past. The things that make you happy and joyful in the moment. Magic that takes you out of your head.
Doing these three things together with people you love deeply and who love you deeply supercharges the experience. It’s the cherry on top of the cake.
THE MEANING OF LIFE
We’re all just passing through. We’re just visiting. Life is meaningless but reality is magical. Life is a gift because we can experience this magical reality. People don't believe in 'magic' and think it's a stupid word, but every night if you look up you see stars, the moon and nobody knows why they and us are here. But still almost everyone forgets about it everyday. Isn't that ironic?
DOING AND CREATING INSTEAD OF CONSUMING
We’re trained to be passive, to absorb knowledge yet a lot of the time we don’t do anything with it. Doing and creating that’s what life is about. When you come across a challenge along the way you learn how to overcome that challenge and you continue your journey of creating and doing. That’s the DNA of life. When you do something you learn and create all at the same time.
BELIEVE AND TRY
Don’t kill your hunger for apples because you ate a bad apple. When you never eat any apples anymore you’re never going to experience the beautiful great tasting ones that are out there. This goes for anything that exists in this world including humans. When I got sick I saw which friends visited me and which didn't care for me at all. That doesn't mean you should hate humans and that you should stop believing in friendship. It shows that you should invest in the ones that deserve it. The ones you filtered out. Don't be consciously blind in order to make yourself feel better about having 'a lot of friends'. Everyone craves connection and feels alone. The art is to find and spend time with people who really value you and would miss you if you would not be around. A great way to come across these people is by doing things you are passionate about together with others who have that same passion.
LOVE
Love coming from family is the strongest love there is and is the only one that is unconditional (if you are lucky). It's the love that you never really worked for, but still it is the most giving. So be grateful for this and give back to your family no matter what their shortcomings are. Passionate love is fragile but can be long lasting if it is sustained and supported. Love and hate are very closely related though. Love is extremely volatile. The person who loves you the most today can hate you the most tomorrow. So don't try to fill your emptiness by relying on the love of someone else. It can flip like a coin. Learn to feel good on your own. Then share your happiness with someone that loves you.
FEELING DEPRESSED
The best thing you can do if you don’t feel good is doing! Do things so you stop thinking and so you stop being stuck in your head. Secondly, do things out of your house or the place where you spend most of your time. Thirdly, do things in company of people that don’t suck energy out of you. A lot of people feel bad and find some people around them that don't really care about them to escape their feeling of being alone. See the difference between those people and real friends who care about you. Feeling alone is normal. And it comes back now and then even if you feel great. If you're never alone you can't really think about what matters in life and reflect. It's all in your hands and don't be too hard on yourself. Society sets expectations that are created by people who don't have a notion of what life really is about.
This is what I experienced so far and I hope it helps someone. But most of all have fun in your life now you still can and don't be intimidated by it. Before you know it your freedom will be taken away from you when you least expect it. Don't be afraid of death, fear never beginning to live at all.
THE UNKNOWN, FUTURE AND COURAGE (added august 2022)
"If you don't fear the unknown, the unknown will be kind to you". Paulo Coelho
The unknown is just like an animal. If you fear it, it will bite and push you far away in a boring and predictable existence. If you start manifesting and truly believing in your core that the unknown in front of you will be an amazing experience, it 100% will. And that takes courage. But it's something you can act on right now and change your life forever. Some people look like they constantly are lucky and seem very successful in life, but actually they just replaced their negative thought programs by positive thought programs and act on them. That's it.
When I started doing this I started healing and reversed an almost impossible physical situation. In a minimal amount of time I healed myself and the doctors were amazed. 3 months later I relapsed again because I stopped behaving the way I did and threw overboard what I had learned before. The big lesson here is to keep working on maintaining your mental way of thinking. It's like going to the gym. You have to keep repeating and when you stop it goes away. In school we never learn to control the way we are thinking. We absorb all the information that's around us without any filter. Replace your negative thought programs by positive ones and remember "If you don't fear the unknown, the unknown will be kind to you". Positivity is one of the most powerful ways to completely transform your reality.
Thank you for taking the time to share this.
Very thoughtful.
Be better soon:)
Thank u for sharing your insights. As a child, I underwent several surgeries. Although I would never want to experience it again, I learned at a young age that life is precious, and to be grateful for every normal day. Your stance on death reminded me of what my great-grandmother would say, "growing old is better than the alternative". It's actually amazing that we all have the opportunity to experience life, but it's easy to drown in depressing thoughts. The amount of options, experiences, and paths we can take in life is overwhelming. When I go out into the world and "do things" after feeling lonely and sad, I'm always surprised by how quickly I feel renewed. However, when I return home, my mind drifts back into over-analyzing mode. Life is defined by the things we do, and not our thoughts. My goal is to truly live. I hope for your recovery, so u can truly live too.
I hardly leave comments but had to on yours...you could write a book...everything was so well written and shows the deep reflection your illness brought you to. Sending you well wishes and I hope you recover soon to enjoy the rest of this crazy interesting life.
❤️
Wow man. This is so so so beautiful. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Can we talk about the editing? It feels like I'm watching a movie, it's amazing!
I love the concept of gezelligheit. A lot of the countries that rank high on the happiness index seem to have a similar concept, such as "mysig" and "fika" in Sweden and "hygge" in Denmark. They´re on to something 💡
I grew up with parents who rarely laughed, couldn’t show me love and were always very serious. I kind of adapted this seriousness. It’s difficult for me to really open up and laugh freely. When I think of my happiest times, they were with people who made me laughing from the heart, accepted me for who I am and my awkwardness - I love being awkward together.. 🙂 No material goal could make me this happy.
India dude?
@@bhargabhmahanta5608 i‘m a 28 y. o. girl from Austria 🏔👱🏼♀️
@@cavaleevi ooo. So this is an universal issue
@cavaleevi same gosh never thought someone else was like me.
My fam the same an outsider once said our family get together we're like being at a wake. When I smile people who know me say what's up with you - bcos I don't smile often. I stifle laughs feeling guilty of laughing, we used to get told off for laughing. I'm learning to connect to my inner child. My happiness is seeing my children happy. Being in nature makes me happy.
I love love love your videos. But being Dutch, born and living in Eindhoven, I do feel like usually when I see people post videos of my country, it’s very one dimensional, and I get that same feeling this time. I mean, I think a major part in why a lot of people here are happier is because the Netherlands is such a rich country (which comes from a dark friggin history). The people you spoke to were all (mid to )high income. But we also have a lot of poor people here, and that gap keeps getting larger, young people can’t buy houses anymore because the market is fucked compared to when our parents were young, and there are genuinely a lot of issues here as well. A lot of mental health, depression and anxiety problems and continuous cutting of education, culture and healthcare funding. It might not be as visible and as large of an issue as for example the US, but these issues and nuances do exist here too, that capitalist toxic work ethic exists here, and barely ever seeing or hearing a mention of it in these kind of videos makes me feel like there wasn’t enough of a deep dive (which maybe you still will when you continue the series? in that case, I will apologize). Oh and to people who have never been here: we do also have a lot of big ugly apartment complexes and places that are just not aesthetically pleasing.
I’m really glad that I was born here and feel privileged because of the resources it gave me, but I just feel like the generalized view of the Netherlands being this magical happy place is a bit unhealthy sometimes.
Yes!!
I'm glad someone Dutch said this, because they were my thoughts exactly.
The usual ideology
I think Americans are mesmerized by European culture. We grow up thinking that happiness comes from material things so we spend our lifetime prioritizing money and de prioritizing our wellness. When we go to other countries in this case European countries we are almost shocked to find out that wellness is the norm there and work is simply just work. I know the toxic work ethic still exists there but it is at a dramatically lower rate than it is in the US so when we do go there it is basically non existent to us, specially when we go for just a few weeks.
I have to disagree. You are correct about most things you say but I think you forget to compare it to other countries in the world. Of course we also have homeless people but it is not nearly as bad as in other, “less-happy” countries. The work ethic exist everywhere in the world but I think Dutch people can easily forget about work when they are not at work. Of course every place in the world has issues and that’s something to be mentioned but compared to other countries we as Dutch people have way less to worry about.
Charles Schultz always said that happiness is a warm puppy. Which is cliche, but true. I think happiness is linked to being content.
7:08 She nailed the survival stress part.
This video is so good that made me wanna live in Netherlands!
Im Dutch and I literally don’t know anyone who managed to survive here that wasn’t born here. When the little feeling of vacation is over and they see how shallow the culture is here compared to their own they quickly forget our nice pension system and health care.
😁 Netherland AND coffee ☕️
@@fow8780 What do you mean by shallow culture? What is culture to you?
@@fow8780 wow, I'm an Italian living in NL and that hit me hard
@@fow8780 true
As someone from the Netherlands, I do feel like the social safety net (insurance, free/standard health care, "free" school (also university etc)) gives us a good base for our happiness. Of course I do feel pressure and I am not always happy, but I know that despite how many times I will fail, the chance that I am not living a comfortable life (in comparison with other countries) is very small. Loved the video! (in a other comment I will give another reason why we dutchies are happy 😊)
I'm from Brazil and here unfortunately it's very different, here there is a daily battle to have a minimally decent life. People don't have much chance of failing. However, all people think that Brazilians are extremely happy and many really are, even with all the problems, but at the same time, Brazil is the country with the largest number of people with anxiety in the world, it seems clear that the situation of the country is directly related to this.
That is a neat perspective! Had not considered that 🤔☀️✨
haha ''free health care'' check your bank account again
As an Italian living in NL I've noticed that while Dutch people are definitely very happy in their day-to-day life, they are generally much "colder" to those they don't know, which makes them look less happy on the surface. Or at least they act colder, it seems like acting in a more introverted manner is the norm.
There's a kind of hyperindividualistic mentality that I didn't even find when living in the US, I mean look at how literally no one wore masks indoors until the day it became mandatory.
Personally there are a few behaviors I can't stand with some Dutchies, like how people just stare at you on the street like it's normal. Cause it is, I've experienced the same thing in Germany.
I live in Limburg, which is super conservative, and I do get a few weird looks from (mostly older) people for speaking Italian on the phone, as well as some people rolling their eyes at me when I tell them "my Dutch ain't so good, talk slower please". Though the attitude towards foreigners like me is definitely much better in the Randstad, people there have actually been super nice to me every time.
Either way, I feel like if you want to make it in NL, as a Dutch commenter said on another thread under this video, you have to be brought up there or at the very least share the Dutch mindset, which is not so common outside of Northern Europe anyway.
I'm happy to be here in NL and I've liked living here so far, every place has its issues and the positives in NL outweigh the negatives imho... but I know I couldn't stand living here long-term, I only have a year or so left here and I'm looking forward to wherever I may end up living next
@@diocanaja fellow italian here that lived in the Netherlands for 4 years. Couldn't agree more.
I believe that happiness is a temporary and overrated feeling that should not be searched for. Internal peace is what I strive for now and it is difficult to obtain but it is a forever-growing feeling, unlike happiness. If we can find peace in our pain or in anything, that's what I feel is worth living for and feeling.
Happiness can be bought (in many ways) but peace cannot. It is an internal battle that cannot just be given. To me, happiness can be distracting and even negative if you are looking for it in superficial/harmful ways and can create addictions. I think in American culture and how I grew up, what I see as happiness here, is not necessarily good.
Peace is what you might be seeing in others, that you do not see or feel in yourself. The search for happiness is where I feel that I've gone wrong and I still struggle to desire it (in probably not the healthiest of ways).
I am from the netherlands, my mom is phillipino and my dad is dutch and I can say I really enjoy living in the Netherlands. I think overal the living conditions are very good and you always have options even when you are down in the dumps. I do think it is very important to create your own community and had a good friend group to have Gezellige evenings with, have fun. Allso working with colleagues isn't only about the work, but also about making connections and having a good time. 40 hours in your week you are with these people so we try to have fun and be honest and direct with each other which is very good for your mental health. Even with my superiors in the workplace we sometimes have a beer after a long workweek and it is nice to connect and be on the same level for a few moments. It is super casual which is so nice. We tend to really enjoy the small moments. For example, the weather is really unpredictable, so one moment it wil be raining and the next it wil be 30 degrees outside. so we savor those small moments of sunlight. We even have a day we call Rokjesdag (skirtday), its the first day of the year where we can wear something short. You'll see everyone is so happy to be able to feel the sun on their skin. The kids are so happy because they have a sense of independence because they are able to play on the streets and cycle everywhere on their own. There's alot of reasons and I think it is hard to capture but I think these are the main ones.
I'm originally from Lithuania, but I moved to The Netherlands in 2010 at the age of 13 with my mom. I lived here for 5 years & went to an international school & then changed to a british high school. My dream was always to live in NYC so when I turned 18, i moved to NYC. I studied, then started my own business, and then lived & worked in NYC. I loved it, but after 4 years I missed the Netherlands so much. I missed the people, the quality of life, the charming streets and canals and the biking. I returned to The Netherlands in September of 2019 and have never been happier. I couldn't wait to escape to the USA/NYC, but after having a taste of that life, I was craving to go back to The Netherlands. There was also a big difference in my return, since I originally moved here because of my family, but when I decided to return, it was my own decision. What a wonderful country this is and I LOVEEEED that you made a video about this, Nathaniel!! Gezellig :)
Thats so amazing! Im glad you’re back.
Yeah, NY is a shithole.
"Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life."
I love this idea! So true.
I'm a Chinese born Canadian and lived in the Netherlands for just under a year. I wish my experience was as good as Sadia's. I encountered a lot of ignorance and racism sadly. I do agree that the country is absolutely stunning. Every town is so cozy. I'm looking forward to you continuing this series!
Be in the moment is the key to happiness! cherish little things like eating a good sandwich seating on a bench enjoying the sunshine or a fresh cool breeze.
Being from Finland, it sometimes baffles me that Finland makes it to number one so frequently given our externally cold social demeanour (at first!) and long, dark winters. However, some friends and I spoke about this that it's more about 'contentment' - i.e. things aren't in a perpetual flux up or down and things are generally fine - rather than 'happiness' as being happy is an emotion.
In the US, a lot of people don't care if you're happy, they just want you to pretend you're happy, and I think that's very sad. That may be one reason so many people in the US struggle with depression--there's no acceptance of things as they are, there's little willingness to take time and process how you are doing, because of the focus on working and achieving things.
I think there's something to be said about being able to accept your current state without an obligation to feel better, and also curiosity about the world and wonder seem to be elements of happiness as well.
wow that was beautifully written, and honestly i do agree. for me i go through depression on a daily and trying to figure out what really create this feeling. the thing about the world and country that we live in now is wack, society is wack. i live in the US too, and nowadays people wouldn't care about bonding with other people or treating other people with respect and it's sad really. I just feel like the more i interact with society, the more overwhelmed I get and I'm not sure if it's my mental health or society itself.
@@slurpski3447 I've dealt with depression, too, related to ADHD. One thing that helped me was a vitamin D supplement--another thing was neurofeedback therapy and diet changes and getting exercise every day. Other things like Jordan Peterson life advice videos help too and finding personal meaning in life.
I think you just need to find supportive people and stick with them, because they're your real friends. Society as a whole has problems, but there are still good people in the US, you just have to spot them, be a good person too, and believe when they say they like you too.
@@EmilynWood yea i've been trying to put myself out there recently and honestly things were getting better than before but sometimes things just feel a bit overwhelming. and thank you for the advice lol
I just read Think Again by Adam Grant, and he had a section in there about happiness. He said something like the people who claim to value happiness the most are the ones who tend to have the most trouble finding it. It reminds me of Mal in Inception; they've spent so much time seeking happiness that they're convinced there's a higher level of happiness to be had if they just keep looking.
so excited for this series! beautifully shot and edited as always.
My two favorite content creators in one frame 😍😍 Hope to be in the same circle as you both one day!
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Omg I literally spoke those same words
Hai ka nailaaaa
So cool to see 😍
Happiness to me is living simply, with less things, less noise and less demands. Not being pressured into doing anything, or being anything but who you are. And knowing who you are is also about learning what you are not, what ways you were influenced to be different for the sake of acceptance. Eventually just letting go of perfectionism, just sitting on the floor and not minding all the thoughts that might bother you. ❤️ I'm from Groningen in the Netherlands
Love this!
Happiness isn't what matters; virtue is.
WOW!! What a “small” world we live in! I love @Pick Up Limes! And when I saw the thumbnail for this video on my TV, after watching your video on eating for 7 days on $1 a day…and I thought…”Hey, she looks familiar!” And I was right! How wonderful that you two know each other!
Now, as for this video…I loved learning about “Gezelligheid”! And I was laughing so hard and crying when the gentleman said “Roasting something vegan.” at the 5:30 mark! And I’m guessing he said that because @Pick Up Limes is all about vegan food! So he knew better!🤣
So, thanks again for sharing your world and making ours a little brighter…at least for me! God bless you all! 🙏🏼💖
I am a Colombian living in Belgium and i must say, biking for even the most mundane of things have truly increased my happiness. Happiness is such a funny thing, we all want, we all know is there when we feel it, yet the definition can vary so much from one person to the other...
this is so interesting for me because as an italian who has lived in The Netherlands for 3 years, I can definitely see why people would love to live there. I loved being able to bike everywhere (including friends living like an hour from my city, since there are kind of highways for bikes) and that biking was not my personality trait, I loved the way things are streamlined and very neat and organized, I loved how high paying jobs are, I loved how cities are built around people and not cars... but somehow I did not connect at all with the people and did not get this cozy feeling of being welcomed (and hated the weather and the food lol). then again, I was a student so locals were not found of us as group, but I think this speaks to the fact that I am used to a different kind of hospitality/community. louder, less respectful maybe, more all over the place and not tidy/organized at all. all this goes just to say that maybe where you come from can shape the place you need to live a happy life?
I'm Italian and i've lived there for 4 years and i couldn't agree more.
Finally someone who gets it compared to most people here and especially the dude making the video.
Thank you Drew for sharing your story. A great definition of happiness!
"life is meant to be shared in many ways" is so beautiful
“Seeing you only once a week” 😆 😂
Just wanted to say while I'm here early that your videos are absolutely incredible. Every single one is a work of art and beauty and teaches me so much. I love learning along with you and am so happy to have found your channel on UA-cam. There's so much content everywhere nowadays, but your channel is a breath of fresh air. I don't know if it's the right word but when I think of your channel, I think "depth" and "real". Anyway, keep doing what you love and thank you Nathaniel!
Wowww that means so much to me!! Thank you Émilie :)
Couldn’t agree more with this!
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This video is filled with so much life! It makes me wanna think about the things that make my life worth living - there's so many. Thank you for sharing this inspiring journey and for showing us more of the netherlands :)
Love this - it always seems like slowing down, living in the moment, and taking time to be with good folks is the answer - it's so hard to do when working 60 hour work weeks and trying to build a passion project on the side. I hope someday it's attainable for me.
"Happiness is only real when shared"
Chris Mccandless
Wow this quote of his also came into mind while I was watching this video. It's so on point to the message here
“Happiness is only real, when shared.”
- Christopher McCandless
🤩 this culture definitely has that!✨
Love seeing two of my favorite creators together in a video.
Thank you! This makes me go back to NL. And in the end True Happiness is found within and yes absolutely when its shared.
Oh how I've been waiting to share this: what altered my view about happiness was changing it from being a noun; as a place to be reached and an often momentary, always leaving you wanting more, into a verb. Happiness is the process and not the result of what you are doing. It's almost the effort that you put in to your life to make it what you want. It seems to me, at least for now, that this is a much more lasting philosophy, with a lot of potential to expand :)
“We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes - understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.”some of us we see failing as failure. Have a delightful day sharing some positivity to your side
The editing on this is unreal. Amazing work Nathaniel!
This was SO beautiful! Keep em coming!
nathaniel, i rarely comment on youtube videos but i just had to comment here: this video gave me so much motivation to be more sociable, something i struggle with ocassionally as an introvert. you've outdone yourself here, great job! :)
me too! i think that’s something i really need to work on in my daily life. being social and doing things more and having things to look forward to/work towards.
Sadia is just a pure love and positive energy. Beautiful. Would love to spend time with you guys traveling or just taking photos around. You guys are just awesome!
Watching your videos always make me feel emotional! I love this
One way I've learned to really appreciate my own moments of happiness is realizing and accepting that there are also going to be moments in my life that are terrible and sad. Life can't be perfect and that's ok!
I mean can we all appreciate how humbly gorgeous is Sadia!!!!
"It's weird to think that the persuit of happiness make us so unhappy" that's my dilema right now
This is SO uplifting!!!! It instills so many positive feelings in you, but, most importantly, it encourages you to question what happiness is really about.
"I think it's amazing how joy can spring out of spontaneous moments; unplanned and unpinnable, like little gifts from God reminding us that life is indeed very beautiful." ~Nathaniel Drew (2021)
This quote is beautiful and will be going on my corkboard❤
what is concidered hapiness is relative, thats why some people can be happy with very little and some wont even if they had everything they ever wanted, even dalai lama sayd that in one yes theory video, we need to be more humble and less self-centered
Hello! What a treat to see two of my favorite vloggers collabing together! Thank you for this post. The Netherlands is at the very top of my travel bucket list and I'm so happy you're doing a series on this part of the world. Hope you're well and I look forward to seeing more! Take care.
I love your editing and story telling . I traded in my search for happiness for contentment and a love of everything I have rather than feeling a sense of lack over what society says I should have.
"The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less" - Socrates
Indeed
Damn, this hits home!
In Sweden, they expect less and are surprised when they get more and that's the secret to their happiness. I wonder if it's the same in the Netherlands.
@@BNJ24 yeah I guess it's the same in the Netherlands
The key to happiness is to be present, being in this moment, because fear and depression can only exist in our thoughts of the future. But you cant always be happy, but you can always be at peace.
I’ve moved to The Caribbean a year ago and seeing you visit my birth city (Haarlem) is so special. People that move here from The Netherlands speak so bad of it, and seeing this video made me realize that i miss it but also how proud i’m of my birth country and how beautiful it is. Thank you 🧡
Man! You literally made me cry with this piece. Incredible as always.
Love this collab! I've lived in Amsterdam for the last 11 years, and I think the Dutch have a pretty open, no BS approach to things (to the point of bordering on rude, LOL). They're very matter-of-fact. There are canals everywhere, but hardly any railings to prevent people/ cars from falling in (and they regularly fall in, including bikes)... but the Dutch mentality is more like "if you fall in, it's your fault and your thing to deal with", so it's not a nanny state in that sense. Which brings a sense of ease, I think. I think the fact that you're surrounded by water everywhere you go around the country is also pretty calming. That's something not a lot of people pick up on, but I feel definitely also brings another sense of ease.
3:08 Wow. Even the birds are the happiest there.
Because they can hear each other due to the lack of traffic noise pollution
This is so beautifully written and explored. There is so much depth in here. I really appreciated it.
My favorite video of you so far ! Loved every single second if it!
It’s interesting that the Netherlands is seen as such a happy place when all we do is complain about everything haha! Maybe it helps preventing negative feelings from clogging up your mental space
Hahahahaha I so agree. It's one of our cultural things to complain.
This is so true lol I started watching the video without even thinking it would be about my own country. So crazy, had a moment of a bigger appreciation!
Lmaoooo inderdaad!! From "it is raining really hard, this sucks" to "jeez, it's too hot outside, this sucks" to "there's snow everywhere, this sucks" 😂 het is nooit goed haha
Heh "clogging".
I laughed out loud when reading the first sentence, waaaay too accurate 😂😂😂
Are you kidding me Nathaniel Drew was in my hometown 😭! I wish you did something like a fanmeet, wow.
Loved all the laughs and wholesomeness in this video, pretty ironic that I want to leave this country. In the end it’s all personal circimstances.
🤩 Awesome town and people ✨
You inspired me after a while feeling stuck and overwhelmed. Thank you x
I have been hunting for jobs in Amsterdam for so long! Seeing this makes me see it in my life even more. Thank you for a great video. You are so talented!
Gezelligheid sounds very similar to the danish “hygge”. I guess it would make sense since Denmark is second on the hapiness list
I'm living in the NL since two years for studies, but always live by the Danish hygge. I guess it comes from the fact that it's hard to mix to Dutch people when being an international.
(even if they are very open, yes I confirm, it's hard to build true relatons with them)
@@angelicaaddo559 Yes, and it's even harder if you don't speak Dutch. While Dutch people are pretty good at speaking English we generally still prefer to converse in Dutch among ourselves with friends.
@@inepthabit Indeed. But even if you do haha. As soon as Dutch see me struggle with one word they're veery quick to tell me "it's fine you can speak English" in English... So not the best when one tries to actually make efforts to get integrated ;)
@@angelicaaddo559 that’s a shame. They are probably just trying to be nice though
@@Sebbir They do! No complaints about it. I like Dutchies
It's not the pursuit of happiness, but the pursuit of a reason to be happy/ satisfied
This was so special and beautifully made. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for this!
I can relate a lot! What I have been learning is that happiness is not a pursuit, but it is about the perception of small events or details in your life: a good bath, a tasty hot coffee, laughing with your friends, hugging someone you love. Noticing their subtleties and remembering their transience makes them more precious.
You did a great job, Nathaniel, as always!
I’m looking forward to watching more videos like this!
Excellent work with this video man, stunning shots and great message. The part of riding a bike and it not always being viewed as a workout really hit home.
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🤔 really cool!
This concept of biking being a workout thing is so foreign for me. I am from Germany and I think, all over Europe people use bikes for commuting and many big cities have paths especially for cyclists. I drove to uni on my bike, my professors did, too and even my bosses at my first real job.
It's just weird to think that people in the US seem to miss out on so much stuff that is just totally basic here.
@@annegreat9343 yea, as a Dutchie I love seeing big European cities catching up, but we're one step ahead again with..... bike highways!! :o 😯
@@FrancisBehnen Don't you even have solar panels built into bikeways as well?
What a beautiful video! Love your content and love that you're exploring the deeper questions
This was beautiful Nathaniel. Absolutely loved this.
I saw Sadia's face and clicked it!! Then realised this is exactly what I needed!! Netherlands is so pretty.....I want to go there....take my whole family there and hopefully my future generations are going to survive there!! Now I am ready to work hard again to reach there. Thank you so much
So cool to see these 2 content creators together ✨✨
Same here in Portugal-a pausa for coffee, chat, nothing-just sitting at a cafe over an .80 cent coffee. Such a good life. :)
I totally love what you said in the end: "Life is meant to be shared."
I'm already doing your Skillshare courses :) I love your authentic talking in front of the camera.
I have to admit, I love the way your brain works and how you question everything that seems to be of crucial importance and how you tell it. Like you said, to be constantly seeking for happiness makes us to be way more unhappier than we should. Seeing that I am not the only one stuggling with this makes me feel somehow relieved.
I hope I have someday the chance to meet you, you seem to be such a nice and interesting person.
I wish you find that happiness 😊
The sound design in this one is on a new level! Amazing video as always Nathaniel ❤
What I believe is a cultural aspect of why the Netherlands scores so high on the hapiness ladder is the way we see succes and deal with wins and victory. We as a country are calvinistic (if that's the right translation). That means that we're kind of monotonous in the way we celebrate our successes. A very common saying is "be normal then you are crazy enough". Maybe because of that we don't have much highs and so not much lows either.
And of course we have stroopwafels, so how can we not be happy ;) Have a great day or night wherever you are!
Sadia is one of my favorite creators and this was a great way to kick off this happiness focused series.
Thoroughly enjoyed this! Can't wait for the rest of the series. What you said about chasing happiness making you unhappy, just wow.
Gezelliigheid is like how the Irish say“craic” 😀 have lived in Ireland for more than 4 years and now I live in the Netherlands, I explain that word to myself that way!😀😀
Love this video! What a fantastic topic to talk about ❤️❤️
That’s cool 🤩