50 ‘Finland Memes’ That Might Inspire You To Live In The Happiest Country In The World
Welcome to Finland, the happiest country in the world. With lots of beautiful nature, a wonderful education system, a passionately burning love of saunas, and deep respect for their fellow human beings, Finns are truly great. And you’ll know that if you have any Finnish people in your social circles, dear Pandas.
However, the Finnish can also seem mysterious, even peculiar. For one, they stereotypically love being left alone and social interactions allegedly scare them more than the local wildlife, the biting cold, and the fairytale creatures that lurk in the dark. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what it means to be a Finn, as presented by the ‘Finland Jokes’ Instagram page.
As you’re scrolling down and upvoting your favorite Finnish memes, don’t forget to read through Bored Panda’s interview about introversion and extroversion with Dr. Andrew Spark from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia.
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The ‘Finland Jokes’ page has been posting memes about what it’s like to be Finnish since way back in 2017. In the half-a-decade since then, the page has carved out a comfortable niche for itself on Instagram, having drawn in 73.1k followers.
Make sure to follow the account on Instagram if the jokes they post made you chuckle, dear Readers.
Most of the memes showcase a slice of Finnish life. From their love of the cold and the great outdoors to learning to embrace the calm, the silence.
It is perhaps this stereotype about Finland, the deep introversion the country’s citizens supposedly live by, that is best known around the world. That and the sweet tooth they have for licorice in all of its forms.
I'm Russian and grew up with a children's story in which to illustrate the characters going to a "cold place" they go to Lapland, which is a region in Finland.
Bored Panda reached out to Dr. Spark from the Queensland University of Technology to have a chat about introversion and extroversion. We asked him about the upsides of extroversion and how introverts feel when pressured to act in a different way than their instincts tell them to.
The expert told us that there are several options that introverts can take to reduce the stress they feel when outside forces are pressuring them to act extroverted.
“We can simply force ourselves to push through it and act out of character (i.e., to act more extroverted),” the expert suggested that powering through an uncomfortable situation is one way to deal with things.
According to Dr. Spark, there are scientifically proven benefits to being extroverted rather than introverted. It’s something that some people might not like hearing, of course. However, there’s also absolutely nothing wrong with being introverted either. Though, at the end of the day, different situations call for different behaviors and mindsets. In short, sometimes it’s very advantageous to act extroverted even if you want to be alone in the middle of a snowy forest.
“Many introverts don’t like hearing this—and I can understand that—but the science is quite clear. When we act extroverted, we experience more positive emotion,” he said, adding that this can, actually, make us feel more tired later on.
“However, if this idea [of pushing through] does not appeal to you (and there has been some research looking at why introverts don’t like the idea of acting extroverted), it may be a better idea to remove yourself from the situation or to reframe how you are thinking about yourself,” the expert told Bored Panda.
According to Dr. Spark, even being aware of the research on extroversion and introversion can help alleviate some of the stress that some people feel in situations they’re uncomfortable being in.
“As part of any such reframing effort, try to keep in mind that there is nothing inherently wrong with being an introvert, but you also have to be realistic and accept that there are certain situations that are better suited to either extroverted or introverted behavior,” the expert noted.
It's better to be happy inside and not show it, than the other way round... :/
“Take heart in knowing that we all have a lot more agency to act out of character if we really want to—and introverts have shown to be quite adaptable when it suits them,” Dr. Spark explained that we are far more flexible than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. Human beings are incredibly adaptable. Whether or not we’re comfortable with change is another question entirely.
I'm from Minnesota. It's colder here than in Helsinki. We still go to school.
Despite the Finnish having a reputation for enjoying being all by their lonesome, their country is actually widely known for its strong feelings of communal support. In fact, it’s one of the things that helped Finland rank as the happiest country in the world in 2021.
Except it's dark in the morning and dark by mid to late afternoon.
Some other factors that contributed to Finland’s overall happiness index include a thoroughly transparent government with very little corruption, as well as the level of autonomy given to the country’s citizens. The Finns felt like they were free to make their own choices at all times.
This will definitely be Winnipeg if the Jets ever win the Stanley Cup.
I kinda ... okay yeah, lol relatable here, too. But more like when it gets above -10C in April.
If I had to experience a long bout of not seeing the sun for a while I would do the same.