One-half of respondents to a survey about their hopes for the future said they want to be healthy, according to an Yle-commissioned poll.
The second-most common desire among those queried was to have a good job, while the third-most common hopes were for good intimate relationships, love, friendship and contact with relatives.
The survey, carried out by the firm IROResearch, was conducted during 7-14 April and involved about 1,000 Finnish residents between the ages of 18-89. It asked what kinds of aspirations people hoped for in the future.
The results showed that the older respondents were, they were more likely to cite good health as important, particularly after the age of 45.
Professor emeritus in psychology, Markku Ojanen, said the results of the survey were largely similar to previous studies on the topic.
However, he noted that the coronavirus crisis seems to have increased the value people are placing on good health.
Not many of the respondents specifically mentioned the coronavirus crisis itself, but a few said they longed for normal life to return from the current conditions of social distancing and other measures in place.
A 42-year-old male said he wished "life would return to normal, so you could go to the movies and travel." An 18-year-old female said "I want to get into college and have my graduation party."
Respondents between the ages of 30-45 often mentioned aspirations dealing with work, career development and having children.
Earlier this spring Finland was again ranked as the world's happiest country in the UN's seventh annual World Happiness Report.
Mundane life goals "surprising"
Ojanen has researched the topic of happiness for decades now and said people’s aspirations for happiness usually centre around rather day-to-day, mundane things, year after year, adding that it surprises him a bit.
"I wonder if they don’t have more exciting dreams than this, particularly young people. Do they [perhaps] not dare reveal what they [actually] dream about? Like being a superstar, for example?" Ojanen pondered.
He said the state of being happy has been defined differently throughout history, within both philosophy as well as psychology. It’s a difficult thing for people to describe, he said, but added that he’s reached his own conclusions about the phenomenon.
"Happiness is a condition characterised by gratitude and contentment with the current situation, a condition in which one does not long for the past, nor the future," he said.
Ojanen said he did not put much value in the large number of self-help books published on ways for people to find happiness on the market, however.
"Happiness is a fairly stable phenomenon, partly due to our genetic makeup. But I believe in the old tried-and-true [ways of being happy] gratitude, generosity, justice, humility and the ability to ask for forgiveness," Ojanen said.