The key to happiness? Low expectations.

The New York Times has a short summary of a rather tongue-in-cheek medical journal article on happiness and life satisfaction in the European Union. It turns out that citizens of Denmark consistently rank as more satisfied with their lives than their counterparts in other EU countries.

There’s even a chart. So it must be true.

The causal factor, according to the authors? Low expectations:

The key factor that explains this and that differentiates Danes from Swedes and Finns seems to be that Danes have consistently low (and indubitably realistic) expectations for the year to come. Year after year they are pleasantly surprised to find that not everything is getting more rotten in the state of Denmark.

So, in 2007, set your sights low. Tell your boards to dial back the expectations. And encourage staff to anticipate the worst. You may not make a positive difference for your community, but at least you’ll all be measurably more satisfied with your lives.

NOTE: If you’re itching to learn more about happiness, satisfaction, and other subjective measures of the enjoyment of life, be sure to visit the World Database of Happiness (to be honest, I feel measurably happier just knowing such a thing exists).