Being direct is our secret, I think. Hiding your feelings is working against you, even when it something simple as giving your real opinion about someones clothes, for example. Criticizing is good, when you're not trying to be rude. Be open and be yourself.
ArjanHier interesting because the dutch society is actually very focused on self-improvement, competition instead of co-operation and an individualistic lifestyle. Finding people who are open about themselves in the Netherlands is in my experience quite difficult. Granted I am not to open myself. With alcohol however it's a different story (:
iP00WN Being open can mean a lot. In The Netherlands you can always be yourself, which also means you're open. Your statement is kinda true, though. Dutchies aren't that open when it comes to feelings and stuff, but because we are direct and we say what we want, we get to learn each other faster. We know who we can trust, because we know when someone thinks the same way. We are open, but only to a few people that are actually close to us. When you are a direct people, you don't hide your feelings when talking as well. That's why I commented that. :)
Exactly. Holding in how you feel, when things go wrong, and they usually will... that is how bad things like depression, for some, come into being. Here in the U.S. , in my experience, people are raised to ignore feelings. We are told from a young age to "get over" what is bothering us. Its meant to be "tough", but in actuality, as I learned after suicidal-like depression hit me. Not speaking up on how you feel is not weak, as we're taught. It takes a lot to speak up *because* its considered weak. It took me 30+ years to truly understand this, and I will never forget it. I have also alienated myself from family and friends because of it. And no fucks to be found.
Yes, being open and honest is better than sugar coating the truth. It just sucks energy and i have more respect for people that are honest. Not rude. Being rude is never a good thing. Being open is really a Dutch thing.
I'm not entirely agreeing with the translation of 'Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg'. It's not a 'you do you' but more of a 'don't stand out too much'. The Dutch are very focused on not boasting, not standing out/appearing to be too outlandish. For instance if a businessman from the States comes to the Netherlands are starts enthusing about how great their company is, what amazing things they're doing in the market, etc, this would be an ideal time for the Dutch to use that quote.
I agree with you. I am Dutch and that saying is a real problem the way I see it. Now I must say, it does hold some merit if it is about, for example narcissistic people or very attention driven people. But the thing is like you said, it also applies when you stand out too much. For example, I am an entrepreneur and looking already for more than 1.5 years for investors on something that can bring more privacy to people their online identity. A lot of research and development went into but for the next step, we simply need money to make it marketable. But we don't get the funding. And the reason we then get is: "Yeah, try a POC running for more than a year with a small academic sample of participants to see where it is going". But the problem is, that won't work because we require network effect for it which cannot take place than. So one of them said that: "You are out of your mind and living in sky castles". (Maybe Dutch a saying :P ) And the strangest thing is, I have attended several conferences where they spoke about the problems that we could solve with our product. Here they mentioned that they would invest in the products to solve them, but when we adressed the problem and mentioned the complexity that lays underneath the problem they adressed but that we also have solutions for that, they turn the cheek and simply ignore us. Later I heard they said that it would be impossible to solve multiple problems at the same time even though we clearly have shown them that it was the only way to solve the problem and that it was perfectly doable. It is incredibly frustrating to know that you have the solutions for several problems on the internet right now but that you are not taking seriously because you life in a country that is more about complaining than solving. While I am normally a very cheerful and optimistic person, that has changed quite a lot over the last year and a half. It almost brought me to depression, that is how bad the investment culture in the Netherlands is. Real shame, so much knowledge and richness but so little utilization and so tiny minded.
i liked the talk. there are many similar findings of socializing and exercising and not competing just being yourself adding to the overall well being of people. Like a wiseman said, being happy is a decision.
When I had to work in NL in mid 90’s in Amsterdam & Venlo, in winter saw very little cycling going on. When I took trains to Venlo back and forth, saw very little cycling. Great progress has been made since then.
Zo werkt het wel hahaha, ik heb een semester in het buitenland gewoond en kreeg soms de vraag van mensen uit de UK waar ik precies in Engeland vandaan kwam. Als ik dan zei dat ik daar niet vandaan kom moesten ze soms even schakelen. Accenten neem je heel makkelijk over, zonder dat je het door hebt
Mario Balotelli ja dat is dus het punt, als je lang in een ander land woont, verwatert je Nederlands een beetje. Woon je er erg lang, dan krijg je een accent in het Nederlands, omdat je het gewoon simpelweg te weinig spreekt.
Cool presentation! Proud of this Dutchie. What I find typical Dutch: she tells what we should do to in order to become happier. This instead of simply explaining what could benefit me and letting me decide. We always know how others should live a happier life... lol
5:24 I know a slightly different version. 6:40 This reminds me of a lesson mentioned in Star Wars. Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the moment. 8:13 I can hear you on both speakers now. 8:44 Slow down! You're rushing yourself!
This is used to be true, but (unfortunately?) dutch culture is getting more "American" in individualism, trying to stand out and increasing materialism...
There is only one way to be happy: Stop trying to become happy. Because trying to become happy will (almost) always end in failure, making you even unhappier.
Im not happy at the moment coz i dont have a job and im an engineering graduate, I get lot of stress but im mastering now to get rid of stress and my weakness, I think social life is the main factor for happiness,
i've been to netherlands, lived there for 6 month. It spoiled me. I would be happy with minimal wedge 1000+ euros instead of 300+ ,with food prices approximately the same as in my home country ( which means -more easily accessible in the Netherleds, because proportionally 20 euros from 400 is more notable then the same 20 euros from 1000+) . Gym was cheaper, plane tickets - also cheaper. And all the travelling they do... i do think it's easier to be happy if you don't have to eat only rise like last 4 days before pay day, because you cannot afford anything else. traveling - very hard. I really miss my time in the Netherlands and Duch friends i made there are visiting Africa and Asia , while i'm stuck
Dutch way of living is live by the norm. But everybody should deviate from the norm to experience real living. Who cares about happiness? It's experiencing live what matters. Experiencing sadness can open up a whole new view on the world.
so i interpret the world around me has very very hard to deal with because i am unhappy when i thi k about me being a part of this world. my life is so hard. i can't a break. and i remember clearly how i viewed the world as a fun, loving teachable place with secrets to discover. i was happy when i thoght that. also, i didn't deal with health issues, i think that's what changed my take of the world and my life. i don't know if i should make my life suck less, or accept how things are. so i can feel happy in my heart.
Dear Sarah, I hope you find that happy person inside you again. You sound like a really good person, don't give up on happiness. It comes from within, don't try and find it in other people.
Dutch are indeed very happy because all domestic studies show that Holland has one of the highest uses of antidepressant pills in the world (1.1. million people out of 17 million). Let's assume babies, toddlers etc. don't take antidepressants (yet). What percentage of the adult Dutch does this make? Two things which I can tell are not true (and anyone in Holland will confirm) are: Dutch people are in fact very individualistic. Her grandmother is maybe an exception, but for all the other elderly people: they are suffering from loneliness and don't have anything to do. The government is trying everything to make elderly people less lonely because it is a hugh problem in Holland. Every month someone is found dead in his/ her appartment after being dead for six month. Nobody even missed that person. And even if her grandmother would have been lonely, she would not tell her granddaughter. In Holland people are ashamed for being lonely. Especially elderly people because their children and grandchildren aren't around them to take care of them. And everyone knows that nagging their children won't help and will make them even stay away more. So the government is installing all kind of national programs like giving (university) students free rooms in elderly homes to keep the elderly company. Next thing: I am Dutch and can tell you that Dutch people NEVER tell you what they really feel. So obviously she doesn't live in Holland. I don't think Holland is a bad place to live in. But it is also not a place where people are jumping around of happiness. Let's be realistic. Holland is just like every country where people are sometimes happy and sometimes not. Not happier than other places. At least the weather will make sure of that.
as Dutch person myself, I agree completetely with the flow theory still, even for a lot of dutchies, its not easy taking recent events in mind. 2008 crisis, (debatable starting date of) the 2015 euro crisis, the refugee crisis, corona, and to a smaller extend american advertisement/ media influence (arguably before, but more agressive since Reagan or Clinton since the internet to me seems to been taking serious since Bill) brought some change the dutch mindset, from experience I know Dutch people favor more as ever the German approach and even embrace Macron while disliking the French, grudges had always been, but are more prevelent. still my younger brothers and vacation workers midset keep me hopefull of the Dutch way not dying, if I look at the 14-22 year olds of today they -to me seem- like the typical dutch, almost as you described
i an dutch and wen i. am sad i go on my bike end lisens to my muziek and just ride to somwer idk way but it makes me happy and i dont know were you live but go somwer like a vilge ware not to mutch car's and do wat i sad idk of its just me or
Pseudoscience from someone who has had some experiences abroad and decided she is now an expert on happiness. Many studies point at the exact opposite of what most people think is true about happiness. For example, think about topics of depression in Western societies. I'm Dutch. The Dutch are a diverse group of people like any other society, with diverse and complex problems.
Too idealized. Yes biking is nice, for sure. Honesty is nice too (though dificult for foreighners to deal with) Samenleving (together living) and the dijk-story don't make sense to me. Actually, our country is quite individualistic, a third of our population says it feels cronically lonely. "Doe maar lekker normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg." (act normal, you're already crazy enough) is what people say to remind eachother that it is not okay to be too diffrent. She refers to it as "oh nice no pressure to compeed" but it is actually the pressure to be as normal as possible. That she connects it to "flow" is very misplaced. Like if you're dutch and agree
in de stad is er misschien geen samenleving maar hier in het dorp is het heel anders. Ik ken iedereen uit het dorp en als er iets mis is of je iets nodig hebt wil iedereen je helpen.
agreed I can go day's without talking to anyone at all and yes I would say that I am lonely at home but when I am on a holiday I am talking non stop with strangers
Ik herken mij in dit gezegde "Doe maar lekker normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg." Ik vind het de meest tegenwerkende houding die wij op onszelf afroepen. Het is uiteraard van de gekke wanneer je denkt dat je beter bent dan de rest en de rest als vuil beschouwd maar het probleem is dat we het vooral toepassen op onze interesses, activiteiten, ambities en levenshoudingen. Ikzelf ben altijd ambitieus geweest over wat ik wil bereiken en heb daar veel voor moeten laten en ben goed op weg vind ikzelf. Maar ik werd daarmee altijd door mijn omgeving als een "hoogvlieger" neergezet, vaak zelfs buitengesloten want ik was dan altijd diegene die "ah die is toch aan het leren nu op zaterdag avond, heeft hij nu niks beters te doen ofzo?" Terwijl ik heus wel uit ging maar ook veel leerde en veel werkte. Het is jammer dat wij hier in Nederland zo'n counter productieve houding over onszelf afroepen. We kunnen zoveel bereiken als we maar wat meer passie en vuur achter onze visies en ambities durven te zetten. Oh ja, dan werd ik als een VOC'er neergezet als ik dat vertelde XD
Dutch Mennonite have huge group togetherness. When I was amoung Mennonite, their constant saying was “Many hands, make light work.” Then you would be assigned a task. I never heard anyone ask what your feelings were about doing this task.
A comment from a Dutch person that has stuck with me is that the people have become totally dependent on the government to provide social care. People no longer think they have any responsibility at all to look out for their neighbours and help when they can. I see the same in France.
some of you are saying that this is not true. But that is bullshit. because it IS true. Obviously she isn't speaking for every single dutch person. This is about the majority. The things she is saying are facts, and apply to most people. (if you're Dutch) look around, pay attention to the way people are... cause I find that Dutch people actually are very down-to-earth and, I guess, happy. So don't just immediately say that it's not true because it doesn't apply to you. (sorry for the rant xD)
Kim Yee __it does not apply to the majority at all. I'm sorry, I'm Dutch and I've lived all over the world. We are not happy people compared other countries. And we're not a tight-knit community at all. It's nice that her grandmother is active and happy, but lonely elderly are a huge issue in the Netherlands. And little competition? She clearly does not have a corporate job.
Kim Yee "It's not true because it's not true." Spoken as a true feminist. no research, no reasoning, just a declaration of your a priori presumptions. All her assertions are backed by research, and while she doesn't leave references, I am aware of most of it. You should be aware of an interesting study following the happiness of people who had major life changes. Whether it was winning a lottery, or becoming paraplegic, after about six months each subject returned to a prior level of happiness. You have turned this talk into a neo-marxist argument. Income disparity is a factor in quality of life, but few have any control over that. If YOU want to improve YOUR happiness, her ideas are both true and reasonable.
+John Thomson: I couldn't quite leave your comment without responding. Based on the quote, I assume it was a reply to Kate Si, not Kim Yee. In any case, Kate did provide reasoning. "It's not true because it's not true." was just a closer, I think. She argued that the Netherlands is generally quite prosperous, and it's hard to factor that out. As for the claims in the video, I can only provide anecdotal feedback, being Dutch, having lived in the UK for two years, and being reasonably well-traveled. In my experience, the only clear difference is that the Dutch are more direct / open in their communication (i.e., the "How are you?" point in the video). This contrast is particularly stark when compared to Italy, say. But I see no evidence that the Dutch are less competitive or ambitious. But as I said, that's just anecdotal, and perhaps I'm biased. If you have references, I'd love to read them.
John Thomson __I thought she was talking about our mentality, rather than our statistics. With all these supposedly happy, careless people on bicycles. I did not agree with that, because we are certainly not very upbeat here, and Dutch people really like to complain about anything, from the weather, to trains running late or traffic. That said, yes, we have a high social awareness and low incarceration rates, but that says nothing about our happines or mindset. Working for an American firm, I can guarantee you that any pitch for a new project will be greeted with enthusiasm in the US, while it's met with scepticism in the Netherlands. We're a let's-wait-and-see-culture. My family is from the Caribbean. Now that's happy, upbeat people for you, even though their statistics may not be the best.
Nonsense alert 1: The most common answer you will hear if you ask a Dutch person 'how are you?' Is yes and you? (Goed en met jou?). Nonsense alert 2: samenleving just means society in everyday conversation. Nonsense alert 3: Dutch people are notorious for complaining.
The picture Britt de Visser paints of Dutch society is a little too rosy, as far as I'm concerned. I was born and raised in the Netherlands but upped sticks to the UK rather late in life. For me, that was sheer liberation. For under the sheen of liberty, tolerance, blablabla for which the Netherlands is famous, subtle repression lurks. And as a foreign visitor, that's not something you'll notice right away, I guess. Britt quotes the Dutch proverb 'Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg', for instance (meaning 'Just act normal, that's crazy enough as it is') and interprets that as 'Just be yourself'. What she doesn't mention, though - or may not be aware of - is that being 'normal' also functions as a pretty effective instrument of social control: a series of unwritten social 'laws', complete with a whole list of 'don't'-s, to break at your own peril. For 'Being yourself' goes only as far as this set of unwritten social 'laws' and dictates attendant permit. The crux is in the Dutch word 'gewoon' (= ordinary). It's code, as a matter of fact, for 'Be like everybody else'. In short: 'gewoon' refers to PUBLIC display of"accepted' behaviour and expression of thought (i.e. as within that very frame of unwritten social 'laws' and dictates aforementioned). Starker even: in fact, 'gewoon' is the KEY to understanding how Dutch society ticks! What starts as 'freedom', in Dutch social life, invariably ends up, at some point, as "duty", for some reason. And the measure of 'duty', at some stage, is active observation of the standard 'values' of 'gewoon'. In other words: once 'freedom' becomes 'duty - whatever that amounts to - it'll be tyrannically enforced, sooner or later. In very subtle ways. Hence, social conformity is very highly rated, in the Netherlands. Reversely, though, any personal aspiration or ambition venturing beyond the granted scope of 'gewoon' (ordinary), once again in terms of thought and behaviour, will be heavily frowned upon - if not outright condemned and/or suppressed. Somehow, crossing that line is regarded a mortal sin. Therefore, transgression will be punished. As long as necessary to force the offender back within the 'universally' accepted line: "harmony" once again restored. And believe me: I know from bitter experience how hard that pressure can be. Yet 'being ordinary' can also be seen as a compliment of sorts, in Dutch society. Or, perhaps, as a form of acknowledgement. It means that you have arrived. And so you're considered part of 'us' now. Hence, mediocrity is, in the same vein, also regarded a virtue, I guess. But maybe the demand of 'being ordinary', as a permanent state of being, is a class thing too. I really don't know. Yet it's no coincidence that even prominent Dutch newspapers and leading broadcasters are usually (and consistently!) addressing their adult audiences as if they are 3-year olds! And nobody bats an eye, incredibly! Nowhere else in Europe has dumbing-down gone as far as in the Netherlands. Nowhere else in Europe has hollowing out of culture gone as deep (deliberately, perhaps?). The Netherlands prosperously sterile, most of the time, on the outside - but cute sometimes, too, nevertheless. But its inside - culturally and psychologically at least - most certainly is a reflection of its geographical landscape: as flat as a pancake. I'll even go a step further: if Karl Marx were to rise from the dead, he'd find dictatorship of the proletariat embodied there. Inhabited by a profoundly pampered, spoiled and intolerably self-satisfied lot I sometimes feel deeply ashamed to have been born into. Especially now I'm living abroad.
I wonder where she got that 90% of our happiness comes from how we perceive our circumstances. Sounds like something that would be difficult to put a number on.
Simply Sookie ik ben 100% Amerikanse man en ik ben verloofd met een Nederlandse vrouw, en ik ben naar Nederland geweest. Hoewel ik Nederland mooi vond, ik was helemaal niet blij omdat alles zo klein was maar dat is gewoon mijn voorkeur :p
Well done, Britt. I also am Dutch, trying to bring samenleving to Los Altos. Would love to meet you as we have samenleving projects coming up that I'd like to invite you to.
Or do not judge it just by the way someone speaks ? :) I am Dutch and my English is better than my Dutch. Why? Because I don't really like the Dutch language as much as English, most my friends speak English even the ones in The Netherlands itself. My boyfriend irl and I speak mainly English to eachother and even though he is origionally from America, my English is better than his. My Dutch is deteriorating even though I still live here and my family speaks Dutch. I often speak back to them in English or have to find the words. Their English has become quite a long way! xD Anyhow, if I would live or stayed in the USA for quite some time, I can't imagine what that will do to my Dutch hahaha. So yea just giving my two cents about that.
Laten we "lekker" er gewoon lekker uithalen, de spreuk is: "Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg" (zonder "lekker" dan... dat is niet "normaal", savvy?)
Ik als belg vind dat nederlanders veel te vaak het woord "lekker" gebruiken, dus ik vermoed dat minstens in bepaalde regios de zin "doe maar lekker normaal" volledig normaal is
Well her family moved to America because they knew that in America they would have a better life then in Holland because Holland is extremely expensive and half your salary goes to the government for taxes. A house in America that goes for $150,000 would cost 1 million euro in the Netherlands. Trust me on this I can speak read and write dutch Fluently so I know what I'm talking about
Alright, excuse me for a moment while I use my fluent English skills to explain the whole economic situation in the U.K. because apparently, that's how things work around here.
dat komt omdat je de hele tijd bezig bent met die maniet praten en is het moeilijk om ineens over te schakelen voor 1 kort woord dus als je een half uur engels praay dan ben je dat gewend geraakd en is het moelijk voor je brein over te schakelen
Johnny Weringa, no she's definitely Dutch, the name and accent are solid leads for that. It's just that you have to focus on English all the time that you can't just switch back from a certain point onwards
Normal people are happy in the Netherlands. But if you're not normal, if you want to become for example a respected artist, or writer, or musician, or fashion designer, you're gonna be veeeery unhappy in the Netherlands. Because if there's one thing the Dutch don't like, it's extraverts. If you can't be normal or can't blend in, because it's simply not who you are, you'll have a rough time in the Netherlands.
If you want to be a respected something its all about you and not about how other people see you. Like Britt said, doe maar normaal dat is al gek genoeg.
I'm not completely agreeing with you. You need other people to become successful, so in a way it does matter how other people see you. The Netherlands is a very pragmatic country. If they don't see a direct function to something, they don't think it's useful. That's why art is at a very low rate in that country, and most artists (even in the old times) left the Netherlands because there wasn't enough audience for them, and no way to grow. For example 'Piet Mondriaan' and 'Vincent Van Gogh', they didn't get big in the Netherlands, Mondriaan got big because he moved to the US, and Van Gogh to France. It's a nice place to live, don't get me wrong. But if you want to do things different, try something new, be extravert and have big ambitions, then you'll have a hard time finding an audience, because 'act normal' is the norm there.
The Dutch don't hate artists, the Dutch hate everyone who is; Look at me, look at what I can do, I aaaaaaaam soooo special. If you make art for art's sake and you become famous, if you just keep acting normal to other people, you will be ok.
I want to add, that it's not only just act like the rest. It's more like don't act all high and mighty, everyone's role is important. I have noticed that especially in the US of A that anything vocational is looked down upon. While over here anyone in a company respects and acknowledges the fact that any link in the chain has the exact same importance for the chain to function properly.
Uhhhh, really don't have a clue where to find this happy bike riders in Amsterdam or any place else in The Netherlands. They, the Dutch, are up there in the top 3 of most annoying, arrogant and direct, blunt, offensive (and even the least tolerant in my opinion) people, together with the Russians and the Israeli's. I think France makes a good 4th place haha.. And the Bavaria part of Germany and Austria a shared 5th place. Greece number 6, but still we like it there so much... But every time we DO go again, we say to eachother, uhhh, didn't we last time agree on never going to Greece ever again? hahaha. The bike riding experience in Amsterdam is becoming a huge annoying problem (a hate the word challenge) since the 50% immigrants don't ride bikes but "slow, no helmet needed" scooters that terrorize our bike lanes! Together with the bike taxi's which are getting forbidden in Asia, but here in Amsterdam, heeey cool, good idea! Jamming all traffic! And the (toooooo many anyway) tourists, especially those who rent a bike while never cycling at home and so must be all having a death wish I guess? And to settle this forever, the "Dutch/Holland/German/Deutsch/Netherlandish" problem: Middle Low German (Mittelniederdeutsch/Middelnederduits/-duuts/-diets, with diets meaning language of the common people) was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League, spoken all around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. It is sometimes taken to mean the dialect continuum of all the other high medieval Continental West Germanic dialects, from Flanders in the West to the eastern Baltic. After High (high meaning altitude, mountains in the south!) German took over as language of the elite, so did Netherlandish (low countries language, meaning low because of the delta being low) became a more distinct language because of becoming an independent republic after the separation from the rest of the "German/Duuts/Diets/Deutsch/Hanze" speaking "area/empire/countries/counties" during the Dutch Revolt and 80 year's war with Spain. Emperor Charles V was born in Gent in Flanders, spoke "Netherlandish" and Flanders was one of the most important area's in that period, with Antwerps as the main trading city of the world. Then the Northern and Southern (later naming) Netherlands, or Burgundian Netherlands, part of the empire of Charles V, became part of the Spanish empire under the rule of his son Phillips II, brought up as a catholic in Spain. Because of the protestants being suppressed now, war began. Ending 80 years later, together with the 30 years war which devastated "The Holy Roman Empire/Germany" with the signing of the treaty of Münster. For the English it was all still "Dutch" at the other side of the North Sea. Later the "Duuts" of northern "Germany" became a dialect which was looked down on. While it was once the lingua franca of the whole Northern Europe and still very readable for Dutch speakers, in contrast to "High" German. So that's why people in Deutschland don't speak Dutch/Deutch for other people in the world :-) And in stead the Netherlanders speak Dutch (in fact Deutsch) and the Deutch speak German/Allemand/Alemán/Tedesco/Duits. The last one is the name for German in Dutch, to make it easy for you, hahaha
I think dutch people are really direct. We come off as rude but thats how we communicate with each other. If we ask the question we need to know the answer.
Het is vrij duidelijk dat ze niet in Nederland woont, want vrijwel alle dingen die ze zegt, ervaar ik anders. Hoewel ik mezelf oprecht gelukkig noem, ligt dat absoluut niet aan de punten die ze noemt.
Look, the Netherlands is not a paradise. Maybe some things make us happier like cycling. But the Dutch life can be hard to: Doe normaal!!!!!! can make you feel really insecure. Stress is a big thing here too. We're not a relaxed country. People always think that but it´s not true. So, don´t generalize Dutch people. Depression and stress are really common here. But...., some things of our culture can make life better like cycling more, or saying "do normal, it's crazy enough." Just know that for example that saying can also be used negatively and that "presatatiedruk, stress en groepsdruk" are not uncommon: carreer stress, anxiety and social pressure.
It's a shame that majority of English people are not like this. You talk to a English person about your day and try have a deep conversation they think your strange.
I mean the message is okay and all we could all try to be happier and stuff, but ignoring the heaps of negative stuff around you is not something I suggest you do to be happier, IMHO we should all be more honest, blunt and unfiltered. so that instead of carefully trying to change something most people are not even noticing, the truth would come out cuz people would not filter what they said or be afraid they would be shunted for it. But I digress since none of this matters of we dont make changes to this capitalistic world of ours.
ik denk dat onderzoeken laten zien dat nederlanders gelukkig zijn omdat er een enorm stigma op depressieviteit ligt in nederland nogsteeds en dat word niet erkend, ook zijn er meer dan genoeg nederlanders die leven met een depressie en denken dat dat erbij hoort en dus op een questionaire in zouden vullen dat ze redelijk gelukkig zijn AKA liegen dat je barst omdat je in nederland maar gewoon normaal moet doen. bullshit zeg ik je net als deze tedX talk.
Lon B ik denk dat je een beetje kalmanus moet doen. Ik denk dat ze gelijk heeft. De Nederlanders gaan dieper in op dingen. Zijn niet nep. Dat werkt. En ik weet dat voor mij het negeren van negatieve dingen en negatieve mensen heel erg hielp met mijn depressie. Precies wat ze zegt. Als jij met mensen omgaat die jouw depressiviteit niet serieus nemen. Dan zijn die mensen niet belangrijk. Ik denk, oprecht, dat je mega overdrijft.
I wonder what the difference is between all these white, happy country’s and the US. 🤔🤔 they’ve been judging us for centuries but now many in Europe are now or about to find out what it’s like.
Ok i have come hear because overwatch like of you came here because of sigma (dutch) ik ben hier gekomen door overwatch like als je hier ven gekomen door sigma van overwatch
Britt de Visser isn't dutch or isn't living there for a long long long time if she can not pronounce 'Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg' And what she describes about our 'samenleving'.... that is totally not the 'samenleving' that I know 😕
The Dutch might do well on the happy rating, because they fill out these psychological "research" questionnaires in the right way. :) Good presentation though.
My right ear surely enjoyed this video.
i only had my left side of earphones in so didnt hear anything....
Smiley EZ 8:16
I'm deaf on my left side, so thanks for letting know! xD
didn't notice a thing but then again i am deaf left.....
I wasted two minutes fixing my jack plug-in, which wasn't broken..
The Dutch are extremely happy when we can complain about everything. At the moment we can complain about a lot, so we are extremely happy.
Complaining is our second nature kek
I second that, nagging is the shit.
man I love complaining, so annoying you are pointing that out though urgh
Zon: kutweer
Regen: kutweer
Sneeuw: kutweer
geen neerslag: kutweer
wolken: kutweer
warm: kutweer
koud: kutweer
lol, In Den Haag is het altijd kankerweer en in Rotterdam teringweer ! Ik weet niet welke kutstad jij vandaan komt ?!
Being direct is our secret, I think. Hiding your feelings is working against you, even when it something simple as giving your real opinion about someones clothes, for example. Criticizing is good, when you're not trying to be rude. Be open and be yourself.
ArjanHier interesting because the dutch society is actually very focused on self-improvement, competition instead of co-operation and an individualistic lifestyle. Finding people who are open about themselves in the Netherlands is in my experience quite difficult. Granted I am not to open myself. With alcohol however it's a different story (:
iP00WN Being open can mean a lot. In The Netherlands you can always be yourself, which also means you're open.
Your statement is kinda true, though. Dutchies aren't that open when it comes to feelings and stuff, but because we are direct and we say what we want, we get to learn each other faster. We know who we can trust, because we know when someone thinks the same way. We are open, but only to a few people that are actually close to us.
When you are a direct people, you don't hide your feelings when talking as well. That's why I commented that. :)
According to Australian comedian Steve Hughes, if you don't make the Dutch laugh, they don't heckle, they stare at you 'til you cry.
Exactly. Holding in how you feel, when things go wrong, and they usually will... that is how bad things like depression, for some, come into being. Here in the U.S. , in my experience, people are raised to ignore feelings. We are told from a young age to "get over" what is bothering us. Its meant to be "tough", but in actuality, as I learned after suicidal-like depression hit me. Not speaking up on how you feel is not weak, as we're taught. It takes a lot to speak up *because* its considered weak.
It took me 30+ years to truly understand this, and I will never forget it. I have also alienated myself from family and friends because of it. And no fucks to be found.
Yes, being open and honest is better than sugar coating the truth. It just sucks energy and i have more respect for people that are honest. Not rude. Being rude is never a good thing.
Being open is really a Dutch thing.
I'm not entirely agreeing with the translation of 'Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg'.
It's not a 'you do you' but more of a 'don't stand out too much'. The Dutch are very focused on not boasting, not standing out/appearing to be too outlandish.
For instance if a businessman from the States comes to the Netherlands are starts enthusing about how great their company is, what amazing things they're doing in the market, etc, this would be an ideal time for the Dutch to use that quote.
I agree with you. I am Dutch and that saying is a real problem the way I see it. Now I must say, it does hold some merit if it is about, for example narcissistic people or very attention driven people. But the thing is like you said, it also applies when you stand out too much.
For example, I am an entrepreneur and looking already for more than 1.5 years for investors on something that can bring more privacy to people their online identity. A lot of research and development went into but for the next step, we simply need money to make it marketable. But we don't get the funding. And the reason we then get is: "Yeah, try a POC running for more than a year with a small academic sample of participants to see where it is going". But the problem is, that won't work because we require network effect for it which cannot take place than. So one of them said that: "You are out of your mind and living in sky castles". (Maybe Dutch a saying :P ) And the strangest thing is, I have attended several conferences where they spoke about the problems that we could solve with our product. Here they mentioned that they would invest in the products to solve them, but when we adressed the problem and mentioned the complexity that lays underneath the problem they adressed but that we also have solutions for that, they turn the cheek and simply ignore us. Later I heard they said that it would be impossible to solve multiple problems at the same time even though we clearly have shown them that it was the only way to solve the problem and that it was perfectly doable.
It is incredibly frustrating to know that you have the solutions for several problems on the internet right now but that you are not taking seriously because you life in a country that is more about complaining than solving.
While I am normally a very cheerful and optimistic person, that has changed quite a lot over the last year and a half. It almost brought me to depression, that is how bad the investment culture in the Netherlands is. Real shame, so much knowledge and richness but so little utilization and so tiny minded.
i liked the talk. there are many similar findings of socializing and exercising and not competing just being yourself adding to the overall well being of people. Like a wiseman said, being happy is a decision.
When I had to work in NL in mid 90’s in Amsterdam & Venlo, in winter saw very little cycling going on. When I took trains to Venlo back and forth, saw very little cycling. Great progress has been made since then.
not much going on in the Netherlands? You've been away too long, dear ;) It's awesome
I thought I was just happy but now I learn its because I'm Dutch. Lucky on two counts.
She is very smart,and makes me miss Nederlands
I am dutch and i can assure you that she aint dutch or she hasnt lived in the netherlands for a lot of years.
Mario Balotelli of ze heeft een tijd in Amerika gewoond en een accent gekregen.
Strawberryishness zo werkt het niet
Zo werkt het wel hahaha, ik heb een semester in het buitenland gewoond en kreeg soms de vraag van mensen uit de UK waar ik precies in Engeland vandaan kwam. Als ik dan zei dat ik daar niet vandaan kom moesten ze soms even schakelen. Accenten neem je heel makkelijk over, zonder dat je het door hebt
Lian Van Berkel je krijgt geen ander Nederlands accent als je ik de verenigde staten Engels spreekt.
Mario Balotelli ja dat is dus het punt, als je lang in een ander land woont, verwatert je Nederlands een beetje. Woon je er erg lang, dan krijg je een accent in het Nederlands, omdat je het gewoon simpelweg te weinig spreekt.
Cool presentation! Proud of this Dutchie. What I find typical Dutch: she tells what we should do to in order to become happier. This instead of simply explaining what could benefit me and letting me decide. We always know how others should live a happier life... lol
Wouw ze is prachtig om te zien en boeiend om naar te luisteren...
5:24 I know a slightly different version.
6:40 This reminds me of a lesson mentioned in Star Wars. Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the moment.
8:13 I can hear you on both speakers now.
8:44 Slow down! You're rushing yourself!
We would have been a lot happier if Iker Casillas had a smaller shoe-size
Jeftol Meister haha geniaal man
thanks for bringing that up bro, now I'm sad again
A cracking joke, turning even that moment into something laughable now
True dat fam, all the weed makes us relaxed
☺
the study concluded that the study wasnt taken in my neighbourhood....
This is used to be true, but (unfortunately?) dutch culture is getting more "American" in individualism, trying to stand out and increasing materialism...
There is only one way to be happy: Stop trying to become happy.
Because trying to become happy will (almost) always end in failure, making you even unhappier.
Im not happy at the moment coz i dont have a job and im an engineering graduate, I get lot of stress but im mastering now to get rid of stress and my weakness, I think social life is the main factor for happiness,
i've been to netherlands, lived there for 6 month. It spoiled me. I would be happy with minimal wedge 1000+ euros instead of 300+ ,with food prices approximately the same as in my home country ( which means -more easily accessible in the Netherleds, because proportionally 20 euros from 400 is more notable then the same 20 euros from 1000+) . Gym was cheaper, plane tickets - also cheaper. And all the travelling they do... i do think it's easier to be happy if you don't have to eat only rise like last 4 days before pay day, because you cannot afford anything else. traveling - very hard. I really miss my time in the Netherlands and Duch friends i made there are visiting Africa and Asia , while i'm stuck
I love this, the ideas behind this are true
Dutch way of living is live by the norm. But everybody should deviate from the norm to experience real living. Who cares about happiness? It's experiencing live what matters. Experiencing sadness can open up a whole new view on the world.
Stereo makes me happy
so i interpret the world around me has very very hard to deal with because i am unhappy when i thi k about me being a part of this world. my life is so hard. i can't a break. and i remember clearly how i viewed the world as a fun, loving teachable place with secrets to discover. i was happy when i thoght that. also, i didn't deal with health issues, i think that's what changed my take of the world and my life. i don't know if i should make my life suck less, or accept how things are. so i can feel happy in my heart.
Dear Sarah, I hope you find that happy person inside you again. You sound like a really good person, don't give up on happiness. It comes from within, don't try and find it in other people.
Excelllent TED talk! Tan su for sharing and best of luck in college.
Dutch are indeed very happy because all domestic studies show that Holland has one of the highest uses of antidepressant pills in the world (1.1. million people out of 17 million). Let's assume babies, toddlers etc. don't take antidepressants (yet). What percentage of the adult Dutch does this make?
Two things which I can tell are not true (and anyone in Holland will confirm) are: Dutch people are in fact very individualistic. Her grandmother is maybe an exception, but for all the other elderly people: they are suffering from loneliness and don't have anything to do. The government is trying everything to make elderly people less lonely because it is a hugh problem in Holland. Every month someone is found dead in his/ her appartment after being dead for six month. Nobody even missed that person. And even if her grandmother would have been lonely, she would not tell her granddaughter. In Holland people are ashamed for being lonely. Especially elderly people because their children and grandchildren aren't around them to take care of them. And everyone knows that nagging their children won't help and will make them even stay away more. So the government is installing all kind of national programs like giving (university) students free rooms in elderly homes to keep the elderly company.
Next thing: I am Dutch and can tell you that Dutch people NEVER tell you what they really feel. So obviously she doesn't live in Holland.
I don't think Holland is a bad place to live in. But it is also not a place where people are jumping around of happiness. Let's be realistic. Holland is just like every country where people are sometimes happy and sometimes not. Not happier than other places. At least the weather will make sure of that.
Dutch = Gezelligheid.
as Dutch person myself, I agree completetely with the flow theory still, even for a lot of dutchies, its not easy taking recent events in mind.
2008 crisis, (debatable starting date of) the 2015 euro crisis, the refugee crisis, corona, and to a smaller extend american advertisement/ media influence (arguably before, but more agressive since Reagan or Clinton since the internet to me seems to been taking serious since Bill) brought some change the dutch mindset, from experience I know Dutch people favor more as ever the German approach and even embrace Macron while disliking the French, grudges had always been, but are more prevelent.
still my younger brothers and vacation workers midset keep me hopefull of the Dutch way not dying, if I look at the 14-22 year olds of today they -to me seem- like the typical dutch, almost as you described
i an dutch and wen i. am sad i go on my bike end lisens to my muziek and just ride to somwer idk way but it makes me happy and i dont know were you live but go somwer like a vilge ware not to mutch car's and do wat i sad idk of its just me or
Carmentje xx such English many wow
wat way can you reed it i can speek it but typing not dat grate in
Zeer mooi Engels. probeer anders wat Engelse boeken te lezen dan gaat Engels schrijven uiteindelijk ook makkelijker ;)
watermeloentje XD Gamen is de beste manier om Engels te leren imo
ArjanHier hahaha ja klopt daar heb ik idd ook veel van geleerd :)
Very inspiring! Thanks. Gratitude has changed my life.
Pseudoscience from someone who has had some experiences abroad and decided she is now an expert on happiness. Many studies point at the exact opposite of what most people think is true about happiness. For example, think about topics of depression in Western societies. I'm Dutch. The Dutch are a diverse group of people like any other society, with diverse and complex problems.
Too idealized.
Yes biking is nice, for sure. Honesty is nice too (though dificult for foreighners to deal with)
Samenleving (together living) and the dijk-story don't make sense to me. Actually, our country is quite individualistic, a third of our population says it feels cronically lonely.
"Doe maar lekker normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg." (act normal, you're already crazy enough) is what people say to remind eachother that it is not okay to be too diffrent. She refers to it as "oh nice no pressure to compeed" but it is actually the pressure to be as normal as possible. That she connects it to "flow" is very misplaced.
Like if you're dutch and agree
precies!! individualisme word afgestraft en er heerst een pest-kultuur in Nederland. maar we hebben wel een goed PR systeem.
in de stad is er misschien geen samenleving maar hier in het dorp is het heel anders. Ik ken iedereen uit het dorp en als er iets mis is of je iets nodig hebt wil iedereen je helpen.
agreed I can go day's without talking to anyone at all and yes I would say that I am lonely at home but when I am on a holiday I am talking non stop with strangers
Ik herken mij in dit gezegde "Doe maar lekker normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg." Ik vind het de meest tegenwerkende houding die wij op onszelf afroepen. Het is uiteraard van de gekke wanneer je denkt dat je beter bent dan de rest en de rest als vuil beschouwd maar het probleem is dat we het vooral toepassen op onze interesses, activiteiten, ambities en levenshoudingen. Ikzelf ben altijd ambitieus geweest over wat ik wil bereiken en heb daar veel voor moeten laten en ben goed op weg vind ikzelf. Maar ik werd daarmee altijd door mijn omgeving als een "hoogvlieger" neergezet, vaak zelfs buitengesloten want ik was dan altijd diegene die "ah die is toch aan het leren nu op zaterdag avond, heeft hij nu niks beters te doen ofzo?" Terwijl ik heus wel uit ging maar ook veel leerde en veel werkte. Het is jammer dat wij hier in Nederland zo'n counter productieve houding over onszelf afroepen. We kunnen zoveel bereiken als we maar wat meer passie en vuur achter onze visies en ambities durven te zetten. Oh ja, dan werd ik als een VOC'er neergezet als ik dat vertelde XD
Dutch Mennonite have huge group togetherness. When I was amoung Mennonite, their constant saying was “Many hands, make light work.” Then you would be assigned a task. I never heard anyone ask what your feelings were about doing this task.
mennonites are not from the netherlands, but from austria and germany.
It is easy to tell people to bike and exercise when you have shorter working hours, safety, flat land, and bike lanes in your country
this is true the dutch do have a pretty nice way of living
A comment from a Dutch person that has stuck with me is that the people have become totally dependent on the government to provide social care. People no longer think they have any responsibility at all to look out for their neighbours and help when they can. I see the same in France.
some of you are saying that this is not true. But that is bullshit. because it IS true. Obviously she isn't speaking for every single dutch person. This is about the majority. The things she is saying are facts, and apply to most people. (if you're Dutch) look around, pay attention to the way people are... cause I find that Dutch people actually are very down-to-earth and, I guess, happy.
So don't just immediately say that it's not true because it doesn't apply to you.
(sorry for the rant xD)
bullshit (srry)
Kim Yee __it does not apply to the majority at all. I'm sorry, I'm Dutch and I've lived all over the world. We are not happy people compared other countries. And we're not a tight-knit community at all. It's nice that her grandmother is active and happy, but lonely elderly are a huge issue in the Netherlands. And little competition? She clearly does not have a corporate job.
Kim Yee "It's not true because it's not true." Spoken as a true feminist. no research, no reasoning, just a declaration of your a priori presumptions.
All her assertions are backed by research, and while she doesn't leave references, I am aware of most of it.
You should be aware of an interesting study following the happiness of people who had major life changes. Whether it was winning a lottery, or becoming paraplegic, after about six months each subject returned to a prior level of happiness. You have turned this talk into a neo-marxist argument. Income disparity is a factor in quality of life, but few have any control over that. If YOU want to improve YOUR happiness, her ideas are both true and reasonable.
+John Thomson: I couldn't quite leave your comment without responding. Based on the quote, I assume it was a reply to Kate Si, not Kim Yee. In any case, Kate did provide reasoning. "It's not true because it's not true." was just a closer, I think. She argued that the Netherlands is generally quite prosperous, and it's hard to factor that out.
As for the claims in the video, I can only provide anecdotal feedback, being Dutch, having lived in the UK for two years, and being reasonably well-traveled. In my experience, the only clear difference is that the Dutch are more direct / open in their communication (i.e., the "How are you?" point in the video). This contrast is particularly stark when compared to Italy, say. But I see no evidence that the Dutch are less competitive or ambitious.
But as I said, that's just anecdotal, and perhaps I'm biased. If you have references, I'd love to read them.
John Thomson __I thought she was talking about our mentality, rather than our statistics. With all these supposedly happy, careless people on bicycles. I did not agree with that, because we are certainly not very upbeat here, and Dutch people really like to complain about anything, from the weather, to trains running late or traffic. That said, yes, we have a high social awareness and low incarceration rates, but that says nothing about our happines or mindset. Working for an American firm, I can guarantee you that any pitch for a new project will be greeted with enthusiasm in the US, while it's met with scepticism in the Netherlands. We're a let's-wait-and-see-culture. My family is from the Caribbean. Now that's happy, upbeat people for you, even though their statistics may not be the best.
Excellent! Very impressive. The sound from my PC was fine.
I enjoyed your talk, thank you!!
Nonsense alert 1: The most common answer you will hear if you ask a Dutch person 'how are you?' Is yes and you? (Goed en met jou?).
Nonsense alert 2: samenleving just means society in everyday conversation.
Nonsense alert 3: Dutch people are notorious for complaining.
would it have been too much work to duplicate the audiotrack guys?
The picture Britt de Visser paints of Dutch society is a little too rosy, as far as I'm concerned.
I was born and raised in the Netherlands but upped sticks to the UK rather late in life. For me, that was sheer liberation. For under the sheen of liberty, tolerance, blablabla for which the Netherlands is famous, subtle repression lurks. And as a foreign visitor, that's not something you'll notice right away, I guess.
Britt quotes the Dutch proverb 'Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg', for instance (meaning 'Just act normal, that's crazy enough as it is') and interprets that as 'Just be yourself'. What she doesn't mention, though - or may not be aware of - is that being 'normal' also functions as a pretty effective instrument of social control: a series of unwritten social 'laws', complete with a whole list of 'don't'-s, to break at your own peril. For 'Being yourself' goes only as far as this set of unwritten social 'laws' and dictates attendant permit.
The crux is in the Dutch word 'gewoon' (= ordinary). It's code, as a matter of fact, for 'Be like everybody else'. In short: 'gewoon' refers to PUBLIC display of"accepted' behaviour and expression of thought (i.e. as within that very frame of unwritten social 'laws' and dictates aforementioned). Starker even: in fact, 'gewoon' is the KEY to understanding how Dutch society ticks!
What starts as 'freedom', in Dutch social life, invariably ends up, at some point, as "duty", for some reason. And the measure of 'duty', at some stage, is active observation of the standard 'values' of 'gewoon'. In other words: once 'freedom' becomes 'duty - whatever that amounts to - it'll be tyrannically enforced, sooner or later. In very subtle ways. Hence, social conformity is very highly rated, in the Netherlands.
Reversely, though, any personal aspiration or ambition venturing beyond the granted scope of 'gewoon' (ordinary), once again in terms of thought and behaviour, will be heavily frowned upon - if not outright condemned and/or suppressed. Somehow, crossing that line is regarded a mortal sin. Therefore, transgression will be punished. As long as necessary to force the offender back within the 'universally' accepted line: "harmony" once again restored. And believe me: I know from bitter experience how hard that pressure can be.
Yet 'being ordinary' can also be seen as a compliment of sorts, in Dutch society. Or, perhaps, as a form of acknowledgement. It means that you have arrived. And so you're considered part of 'us' now. Hence, mediocrity is, in the same vein, also regarded a virtue, I guess. But maybe the demand of 'being ordinary', as a permanent state of being, is a class thing too. I really don't know. Yet it's no coincidence that even prominent Dutch newspapers and leading broadcasters are usually (and consistently!) addressing their adult audiences as if they are 3-year olds! And nobody bats an eye, incredibly!
Nowhere else in Europe has dumbing-down gone as far as in the Netherlands. Nowhere else in Europe has hollowing out of culture gone as deep (deliberately, perhaps?). The Netherlands prosperously sterile, most of the time, on the outside - but cute sometimes, too, nevertheless. But its inside - culturally and psychologically at least - most certainly is a reflection of its geographical landscape: as flat as a pancake.
I'll even go a step further: if Karl Marx were to rise from the dead, he'd find dictatorship of the proletariat embodied there. Inhabited by a profoundly pampered, spoiled and intolerably self-satisfied lot I sometimes feel deeply ashamed to have been born into. Especially now I'm living abroad.
She sounds like she's been here on holiday a couple of times. Her version of the Netherlands, as nice as it is, is way too idealized.
Thank you!
I wonder where she got that 90% of our happiness comes from how we perceive our circumstances. Sounds like something that would be difficult to put a number on.
One word: Onzin
In English: Double Dutch
this young lady is so inspiring... (and beautiful =)
Lol. All these non dutch people who probably havent even been in the netherlands yet seem to be experts somehow
Simply Sookie ik ben 100% Amerikanse man en ik ben verloofd met een Nederlandse vrouw, en ik ben naar Nederland geweest. Hoewel ik Nederland mooi vond, ik was helemaal niet blij omdat alles zo klein was maar dat is gewoon mijn voorkeur :p
Yace Young dat komt omdat je er 1 keer bent geweest er is veel meer te doen in nederland!!!!!
So you didn't watch the video? She is Dutch. Her name is Britt de Visser, how Dutch can you be.
Judging by how she speaks Dutch.... she really isn't Dutch. She might have Dutch parents but it sure isn't her native language
Being Dutch doesn't mean having an accent, it means having a Dutch passport.
Well done, Britt. I also am Dutch, trying to bring samenleving to Los Altos. Would love to meet you as we have samenleving projects coming up that I'd like to invite you to.
I think she's not from the Netherlands. Her Dutch is really bad😶
Thatˋs right, she doesn‘t sound like a native speaker. But who care‘s, the story is okay
Beschrijving lezen
Arne Boom ahahahah ik ben stuk lmao sorry😂
Or do not judge it just by the way someone speaks ? :) I am Dutch and my English is better than my Dutch. Why? Because I don't really like the Dutch language as much as English, most my friends speak English even the ones in The Netherlands itself. My boyfriend irl and I speak mainly English to eachother and even though he is origionally from America, my English is better than his.
My Dutch is deteriorating even though I still live here and my family speaks Dutch. I often speak back to them in English or have to find the words. Their English has become quite a long way! xD Anyhow, if I would live or stayed in the USA for quite some time, I can't imagine what that will do to my Dutch hahaha. So yea just giving my two cents about that.
Yah
Fantastic, brilliant young lady. I am going to do the 21 day challenge!
Excellent job. Good talk. Good analysis. Insightful and entertaining
Funny to see this as a Dutch person from a different perspective!
GREAT Topic, but c'mon TED...its not that hard placing the Audio on 2 Channels for both left & right...
It is because we have the best welfare state, lady. Or we had.
First step, be sure your audio in videos is good
My right ear enjoyed this :)
Laten we "lekker" er gewoon lekker uithalen, de spreuk is: "Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg" (zonder "lekker" dan... dat is niet "normaal", savvy?)
Ik als belg vind dat nederlanders veel te vaak het woord "lekker" gebruiken, dus ik vermoed dat minstens in bepaalde regios de zin "doe maar lekker normaal" volledig normaal is
Well her family moved to America because they knew that in America they would have a better life then in Holland because Holland is extremely expensive and half your salary goes to the government for taxes. A house in America that goes for $150,000 would cost 1 million euro in the Netherlands. Trust me on this I can speak read and write dutch Fluently so I know what I'm talking about
Alright, excuse me for a moment while I use my fluent English skills to explain the whole economic situation in the U.K. because apparently, that's how things work around here.
Whahaaa lekker nederlands: she bikes to the shop😂😂😂😂
Dat is goed hoor. Meestal gebruiken ze cycling, maar biking mag ook.
Doe normaal, dat is al gek genoeg... Well i personally meer heard anyone say that and i live in the Netherlands, sooo has anyone ever heard that??
"like if or when the factor wave comes to you ' dank Britt, kanjer : )
great.
She has an accent when she speaks dutch 😶
dat komt omdat je de hele tijd bezig bent met die maniet praten en is het moeilijk om ineens over te schakelen voor 1 kort woord dus als je een half uur engels praay dan ben je dat gewend geraakd en is het moelijk voor je brein over te schakelen
Indeed, she has a ridiculous strong accent when she speaks Dutch. Maybe she didn't grow up in the Netherlands? If she did, then it is really strange.
Johnny Weringa, no she's definitely Dutch, the name and accent are solid leads for that. It's just that you have to focus on English all the time that you can't just switch back from a certain point onwards
madebyirisx oh yeah, I didn't bother reading it all
Simply Sookie ik kom uit overrijsel en een vrindin uit amsterdam vind mijn. aksend heel boers maar dat valt wel (omuneg😄) me
FYI: According to the national health service, about one in three is happy via medicines. So I doubt we're really the happiest people on earth.
only at the and i hear sound
Leuk verhaal :-)
Normal people are happy in the Netherlands.
But if you're not normal, if you want to become for example a respected artist, or writer, or musician, or fashion designer, you're gonna be veeeery unhappy in the Netherlands.
Because if there's one thing the Dutch don't like, it's extraverts.
If you can't be normal or can't blend in, because it's simply not who you are, you'll have a rough time in the Netherlands.
Nail on the head! Very true! Thanks for pointing this out.
If you want to be a respected something its all about you and not about how other people see you. Like Britt said, doe maar normaal dat is al gek genoeg.
I'm not completely agreeing with you. You need other people to become successful, so in a way it does matter how other people see you. The Netherlands is a very pragmatic country. If they don't see a direct function to something, they don't think it's useful. That's why art is at a very low rate in that country, and most artists (even in the old times) left the Netherlands because there wasn't enough audience for them, and no way to grow. For example 'Piet Mondriaan' and 'Vincent Van Gogh', they didn't get big in the Netherlands, Mondriaan got big because he moved to the US, and Van Gogh to France.
It's a nice place to live, don't get me wrong. But if you want to do things different, try something new, be extravert and have big ambitions, then you'll have a hard time finding an audience, because 'act normal' is the norm there.
The Dutch don't hate artists, the Dutch hate everyone who is; Look at me, look at what I can do, I aaaaaaaam soooo special.
If you make art for art's sake and you become famous, if you just keep acting normal to other people, you will be ok.
I want to add, that it's not only just act like the rest. It's more like don't act all high and mighty, everyone's role is important. I have noticed that especially in the US of A that anything vocational is looked down upon. While over here anyone in a company respects and acknowledges the fact that any link in the chain has the exact same importance for the chain to function properly.
I'll believe us Dutch people are happy when 1.000.000 dutch are no longer taking anti-depressants.
@Britt Ratelband, je hebt vergeten te zeggen: "TJAKKA!"
"there is not much going on there." Really? We lead the world in so many fields but nothing is happening.
Interessant doen met de cultuur van je familie terwijl je zelf gewoon Amerikaans bent
Uhhhh, really don't have a clue where to find this happy bike riders in Amsterdam or any place else in The Netherlands. They, the Dutch, are up there in the top 3 of most annoying, arrogant and direct, blunt, offensive (and even the least tolerant in my opinion) people, together with the Russians and the Israeli's. I think France makes a good 4th place haha.. And the Bavaria part of Germany and Austria a shared 5th place. Greece number 6, but still we like it there so much... But every time we DO go again, we say to eachother, uhhh, didn't we last time agree on never going to Greece ever again? hahaha.
The bike riding experience in Amsterdam is becoming a huge annoying problem (a hate the word challenge) since the 50% immigrants don't ride bikes but "slow, no helmet needed" scooters that terrorize our bike lanes! Together with the bike taxi's which are getting forbidden in Asia, but here in Amsterdam, heeey cool, good idea! Jamming all traffic! And the (toooooo many anyway) tourists, especially those who rent a bike while never cycling at home and so must be all having a death wish I guess?
And to settle this forever, the "Dutch/Holland/German/Deutsch/Netherlandish" problem: Middle Low German (Mittelniederdeutsch/Middelnederduits/-duuts/-diets, with diets meaning language of the common people) was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League, spoken all around the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. It is sometimes taken to mean the dialect continuum of all the other high medieval Continental West Germanic dialects, from Flanders in the West to the eastern Baltic.
After High (high meaning altitude, mountains in the south!) German took over as language of the elite, so did Netherlandish (low countries language, meaning low because of the delta being low) became a more distinct language because of becoming an independent republic after the separation from the rest of the "German/Duuts/Diets/Deutsch/Hanze" speaking "area/empire/countries/counties" during the Dutch Revolt and 80 year's war with Spain. Emperor Charles V was born in Gent in Flanders, spoke "Netherlandish" and Flanders was one of the most important area's in that period, with Antwerps as the main trading city of the world. Then the Northern and Southern (later naming) Netherlands, or Burgundian Netherlands, part of the empire of Charles V, became part of the Spanish empire under the rule of his son Phillips II, brought up as a catholic in Spain.
Because of the protestants being suppressed now, war began. Ending 80 years later, together with the 30 years war which devastated "The Holy Roman Empire/Germany" with the signing of the treaty of Münster. For the English it was all still "Dutch" at the other side of the North Sea. Later the "Duuts" of northern "Germany" became a dialect which was looked down on. While it was once the lingua franca of the whole Northern Europe and still very readable for Dutch speakers, in contrast to "High" German. So that's why people in Deutschland don't speak Dutch/Deutch for other people in the world :-) And in stead the Netherlanders speak Dutch (in fact Deutsch) and the Deutch speak German/Allemand/Alemán/Tedesco/Duits. The last one is the name for German in Dutch, to make it easy for you, hahaha
8:16 :o sounds
Comments:
99% Dutch
1% other
Wow, that was really fucking depressing.
The Dutch? Social? don't make me laugh - you mean socialLY AWKWARD lol
I think dutch people are really direct. We come off as rude but thats how we communicate with each other. If we ask the question we need to know the answer.
Direct to survive.
Thats in our DNA.
Be polite,and you wil drown.
Héél goed!
Het is vrij duidelijk dat ze niet in Nederland woont, want vrijwel alle dingen die ze zegt, ervaar ik anders. Hoewel ik mezelf oprecht gelukkig noem, ligt dat absoluut niet aan de punten die ze noemt.
She must've been away from the Netherlands from a long time, because her Dutch sounds very funny.
Too bad my right headside earpiece broke of..but i use that side to listen to my wife:)
More likely that Grandma doesn't "have the time" to call her because she can't understand a word of alleged Dutch Britt speaks.
Look, the Netherlands is not a paradise. Maybe some things make us happier like cycling. But the Dutch life can be hard to: Doe normaal!!!!!! can make you feel really insecure. Stress is a big thing here too. We're not a relaxed country. People always think that but it´s not true.
So, don´t generalize Dutch people. Depression and stress are really common here. But...., some things of our culture can make life better like cycling more, or saying "do normal, it's crazy enough." Just know that for example that saying can also be used negatively and that "presatatiedruk, stress en groepsdruk" are not uncommon: carreer stress, anxiety and social pressure.
No sound
It's a shame that majority of English people are not like this. You talk to a English person about your day and try have a deep conversation they think your strange.
Ik zou der doen
Britt is best wel lekker..
I lived in a Dutch village for 4 years and I was miserable. Glad I brought my children up on English humour
Uhmmm...... I'm antisocial, don't exorcise, and yet I am Dutch. I don't think this is too accurate, at least for not everyone
dit is bullshit ik vraag met af hoe dit in een TEDx talk terecht is gekomen.
I mean the message is okay and all we could all try to be happier and stuff, but ignoring the heaps of negative stuff around you is not something I suggest you do to be happier, IMHO we should all be more honest, blunt and unfiltered. so that instead of carefully trying to change something most people are not even noticing, the truth would come out cuz people would not filter what they said or be afraid they would be shunted for it. But I digress since none of this matters of we dont make changes to this capitalistic world of ours.
Lon B ik denk dat meeste Nederlanders gelukkig zijn omdat we bijna alles mogen zeggen
ik denk dat onderzoeken laten zien dat nederlanders gelukkig zijn omdat er een enorm stigma op depressieviteit ligt in nederland nogsteeds en dat word niet erkend, ook zijn er meer dan genoeg nederlanders die leven met een depressie en denken dat dat erbij hoort en dus op een questionaire in zouden vullen dat ze redelijk gelukkig zijn AKA liegen dat je barst omdat je in nederland maar gewoon normaal moet doen. bullshit zeg ik je net als deze tedX talk.
dat is niet wat ik bedoel, en het blijft onnozele bullshit.
Lon B ik denk dat je een beetje kalmanus moet doen. Ik denk dat ze gelijk heeft. De Nederlanders gaan dieper in op dingen. Zijn niet nep. Dat werkt. En ik weet dat voor mij het negeren van negatieve dingen en negatieve mensen heel erg hielp met mijn depressie. Precies wat ze zegt. Als jij met mensen omgaat die jouw depressiviteit niet serieus nemen. Dan zijn die mensen niet belangrijk. Ik denk, oprecht, dat je mega overdrijft.
I wonder what the difference is between all these white, happy country’s and the US. 🤔🤔 they’ve been judging us for centuries but now many in Europe are now or about to find out what it’s like.
Happiest people, the dutch, wealth from africa, give back
Which English? Besides, brevity was my aim, if you know what I mean.
The English took much of the Dutch posessions in Africa. So you'd have to ask them. Africa was more or less divided up between England and France.
I think you know. State your point, please.
"do not know what you are talking about," Isn't it too soon to reach such a conclusion? That tells about your interviewing skills. Navigate away.
Like Africa ? Go back to your poop hut and enjoy living there.
What if you're an happy introvert......?
Ok i have come hear because overwatch like of you came here because of sigma (dutch) ik ben hier gekomen door overwatch like als je hier ven gekomen door sigma van overwatch
The secret to Dutch happiness is having low expectations
Britt de Visser isn't dutch or isn't living there for a long long long time if she can not pronounce 'Doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg'
And what she describes about our 'samenleving'.... that is totally not the 'samenleving' that I know 😕
Biking in small full Amsterdam is bad cus of the fumes/dirt ... so choose other activities
The Dutch might do well on the happy rating, because they fill out these psychological "research" questionnaires in the right way. :) Good presentation though.
I thought my headphones broke
If she could only stand still...
RosenblaetterPL resulting in? I wonder how you would do standing there. Stop whining about it.
It would be easier to focus on what she actually had to say.
It's no whining, it's just an observation. No need to be rude.