tonight, the elusive pursuit of happiness. >> i'm at a point in my life right now where i've been really chasing my own happiness. >> three americans flying halfway around the world to the so-called happiest country on earth, finland. unlocking its secrets like a scene out of willy wonka, thousands vying for a chance at a golden ticket in a worldwide challenge for the first ever happiness master class. the winners? >> i just found out i'm going

finland. >> for the lifetime opportunity. their challenge is finding joy in everyday life. sound familiar? >> there is this pressure to constantly be the best representation of myself. >> what they learned along the way. >> in the u.s., we're thinking about how can i make a living. >> bringing those lessons back home. >> the united states is 15th on this world happiness report. what are we getting wrong? >> and how you can bring joy into your own life. this special edition of "nightline," "finding happiness" will be right back. isn't at its best. metamucil gummies make it easy to get the fiber you need. promoting your digestive health for a better you. metamucil gummies. the easy way to get your daily fiber. the all-in-one and done symptom relief of mucinex is delivered fast with doordash, so you don't have to leave the couch. oof! that was fast.

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good evening. thank you for joining us. merry christmas to you and yours. as families gather on this christmas day to reflect on the meaning of joy and contentment, the pursuit of happiness is something embedded in the american culture, especially at this time of year. though holiday images focus on joy and togetherness, many americans report feeling particularly unhappy during the most wonderful time of the year. but what if you could learn to be happy? the country of finland ranks at the top of the world happiness report. the united states is 15th. so what do finns know that we don't? here is abc's ashan singh with another look at "finding

happiness." >> how far would you go to find happiness? >> ten minutes out, guys. ten minutes out from the resort. >> reporter: for these three americans, that question took them nearly 5,000 miles from their homes. to scenic finland for a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn the secrets of the so-called happiest country on earth. finland launching the first ever master class of happiness. sponsored by the government, hosting 14 people from around the world. we were right there, granted exclusive access. >> my biggest takeaway so far is that sometimes i avoid things -- sorry, i might cry. >> in the u.s., we're thinking about like how can i make a living. you're too tired to think about, like, how happy i feel. >> reporter: finland really the happiest country in the world, maybe we should all listen a little more closely to what

they're saying. finland was crowned the happiest country on earth by the world happiness report. in comparison, the united states ranks 15th. experts say finland's robust safety net like free health care and free and low-cost child care play a major role in promoting happiness. but there is another key difference in america. >> success is defined as more, more, more, more, more. and that is making a lot of people actually quite miserable because there is this sense of i will never have enough, earn enough, more fundamentally, be enough. that is not finland. >> reporter: embracing its reputation. >> did you hear? finland is organizing a master class on happiness in finland, in person. >> reporter: finland announced a worldwide contest, whipping the internet into a frenzy like something out of "willy wonka and the chocolate factory" ♪ i got a golden ticket ♪

>> reporter: people from all over the world applying for their chance at a golden ticket. only 14 winners were selected, including three from right here in the u.s. >> okay, you guys, i just found out i'm going to finland. >> reporter: nikki says his pursuit of happiness once led him to hard partying and down a path of addiction. now in long-term recovery, he sees finland as a way to redefine his happiness. have you started packing at all? >> no, absolutely not. >> reporter: orlando dobbin is an elementary school counselor from north carolina. orlando says happiness is something that has often fall tony the bottom of his priority list. at one time, struggling with a personal crisis. >> last year was a really low time. there were times where i called suicide hotlines to get support. it's gotten pretty close. >> reporter: he credits therapy and medication to getting him to a better place. now he wants to help his students find their happiness. ♪

>> reporter: anna orion is a concert promoter. >> oh, i'm too much? how about now? >> reporter: a confidence queen, championing all things body positivity with more than ten million social media followers. but she has also opened up about her struggles. >> part of the reason i am overweight is because of the drama in my life and the ways i coped with it. >> reporter: now on a health and weight loss journey, anna says the responsibility she feels to represent plus-sized people in her don't has at time taken a toll. >> there is this pressure to constantly be the best representation of myself, which drives me to overwork, overextending, and never taking out time to just live. >> reporter: she is excited about her trip, but is admittedly scared about what

will happen when she gets there. >> when people see people in my body, there is a perception of what we are and what we are capable of. and i've had to fight against that narrative my whole life. i'm going into this just open. >> it is 5:00 p.m., the night before i leave for finland. it's just not all going to fit. >> my parent, my lovely parents are here taking me to the airport. say hey. >> hey! >> so i made to it the airport. let's go! . >> so i just arrived in helsinki. >> hello! get on the bus to happiness! >> reporter: finland is the home of santa claus. known for its northern lights in the cold dark month, and for its endless daytime in the summer. so it is almost 10:00 in the

evening here in lake simon in finland. it's no wonder they call this place the land of the midnight sun. the sun almost never sets this time of year. >> whoa, this is insane. i'm so thankful to be here. >> today is day one. today's theme is nature. so we're going to be outside. so excited for it. ♪ >> bright and early, the group's first activity hiking, a common pastime for nature-loving fins. >> are you guys all set? >> yes. >> all right, we're on our first day! >> so you can see why i wanted to take you here. >> reporter: the aim of the

nature walk is to go deeper, to actually disconnect and engage with nature in a much more meaningful way. >> she invited us to be in our body and be present. she would say do you hear the birds? she would talk to us about how old a tree is. >> we'll sit down for a little bit and enjoy and relax. so when you are sitting down comfortably, you can close your eyes and continue like this for a moment. >> i am really happy to be here. it also made me feel a little anxious, to be honest, because everything felt much slower, and that was uncomfortable. i realize i don't stop very often. and so it was nice to just stop for a second. >> i think it's very important to be in nature. i don't do it enough. >> it's almost like hearing the thing that's been calling to you all along, you know. i could feel my spirit coupling down and becoming a little bit more still. >> reporter: along with nature, another core part of finnish

happiness is the sauna, a place where you go to connect to your body and with others. just like the master class students, we get a lesson of our own. changing into our swimwear and towels, let's head to the sauna. >> you put the cloth here and we sit on it. and then we take water. >> reporter: oh, you're really throwing it. there we go. >> when we strip our clothes and enter the sauna, many of us finns, we also strip away from our worry, and we really go there to be present. i think that's a huge gift. >> reporter: back at the master class, the group is immersed in key principles of finnish culture, simple living. >> day two, we're at a farm. >> it just ate it out of my hands! >> we're living that farm life. >> reporter: balance and

well-being. >> day three -- >> we're doing forest yoga, baby. >> exhalation, slide down. >> reporter: enjoying good food. >> where are the twinkies? >> i am making tartlets. i'm going to be real honest with you. i do not know what i'm doing. >> it's delicious. >> is it really delicious? >>, no it's absolutely delicious. >> reporter: and good company. >> it's inspiring to spend time with just amazing humans from all over the world. that's been probably one of the greatest sources of happiness since being here. >> very good. >> very good. >> yes! >> reporter: mickey telling us this trip showed him just how far he's come. >> compared to the last time i went abroad where i was drinking every day, you know, alone and with other people. this time has been so much better. i've been so much more present and joyful and connected with people.

>> sometimes i avoid things because they seem hard or scary, and i'm cheating myself out of those opportunities. and i think i need to be less scared. that sometimes things that make you happy are hard. >> we want to think about this master class week of how do you take into it the world? >> april renney, an american born to a finnish father has spoken all over the world about navigating life's volatility. >> everyone is dealing with different kinds of change, and everyone wants to be happy. >> reporter: she thinks americans can learn a lot from finnish culture. the united states is 15th on this world happiness report. what are we getting wrong in the united states about being happy? >> we have a real challenge with trust in the united states. for many people, the hardest person to trust is themselves. or if your default is mistrust, it makes it very hard to be happy, satisfied. it's a straight shot to fear and anxiety. >> what traits have you notice

ready consistent in happy people? >> happier people have a deep connection to gratitude. they express gratitude every day. happiness is something that can be learned, but it has to be practiced. >> reporter: on the final moderning of the master class, i catch up with the americans one last time. how has the week been? >> i wonder if you ask a butterfly ask what is it like becoming a butterfly? the butt ever fly would be how do i explain this process? that's how i feel. >> reporter: you feel like you've gone through >> i do. realizing i have a deep connection and i can be happy unless they're happy and they can't be happy unless aim happy. >> we're all so busy looking for happiness out there. i'll be happy when i get the promotion. i'll be happy when i move to the new city. if you can't find gratitude with what you have right now, you

will never have it. >> when you were on the other side of this, you said one of the things that you wanted to focus on was stopping. >> here is the interesting thing. in fact that's what i needed. i realized all of the times i pushed myself and worked so hard to be like the best version of me is because i don't trust that people will value me unless i constantly prove to them that i'm worthy any sort of value. >> you feel like you're turning a new leaf? >> yeah, but i don't know what's next, right. it's not like i walked away from this week with answers. it's more like i walked away from this week with some really difficult questions that i think will in fact change my life. >> one, two, three! >> three lives changed. heading home with a new take on life. >> when in finland, man.

and profound lessons. >> you're officially a finn now! >> reporter: still to come -- >> the first thing did when i came back is screw that, i'm going to do it. >> have the americans actually become happier? stay with us. my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc.

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♪

hey! >> hey, how is it going? >> good. how you? >> so good to see you. >> reporter: it's been nearly two months since anne o'brien went searching for happiness in finland. >> this is where the magic happens? >> reporter: she is back in her texas apartment, where she make misof the videos for her almost 10 million social media followers. >> okay, guys. this is what i'm hearing today, ta-da, it's this really comfy jumpsuit. >> reporter: anna says the impact of her master class is trickling into her content. >> it is making mery think all of the things we're doing for this channel. >> reporter: how has it changed the content creation? >> i held back a lot. not because i was ashamed, but because i didn't trust that other people would accept my opinions. and i've given myself permission to be a little bit more open. >> reporter: fining the courage to post this emotional video.

sharing the problems she faced on her flight there. >> it just -- really hate my body right now. >> reporter: anna before she got on the trip? >> no, she probably wouldn't have. i hope it will help some people feel seen and be empowered to do something they were scared of and to not give up. >> reporter: has anything changed since you came back from finland? >> there were some things i really wanted to do, but oh, i'm not going to be able to. i immediately wrote myself out of them. the first thing did when i came back was screw that, i'm going to do it. >> we're here. >> reporter: anna took a vacation to portugal and spain shortly after the master class, and pushed herself to take a challenging uphill hike. >> honestly, this was so worth the hike. >> hey, girls! oh, my gosh, i haven't seen you face-to-face. ama your face is popping with this light. >> reporter: anna has forged a lasting bond with fellow

americans mickey and orlando. >> it's so good to see everyone now. >> yeah, nice to see you guys. >> what did happiness mean to you before the trip versus what it means to you now? >> i think i thought of happiness as how do i -- we all needed to have an individual plan for how we would become happy. and i think after this trip, i realize that maybe instead of happiness being the goal, it is connection and relationships being the goal and happiness is the by-product of that. >> we're finding new ways to connect to people, and that connection is part of what equals happiness. >> i think i thought whenever i was unhappy, that i was like doing something wrong, or that there was something wrong with me. like i sometimes i'm just having a down day, or a down moment. and not everything is a problem that needs to be solved. >> are you happier? >> am i happier? i don't know. it's hard to say. but what i have been thinking about is trying to zoom into the

present moment a little bit more. >> i think the answer is yes for me, because i think the main lesson i took away was that happiness is an inside job, mainly. >> i thought happiness was an idea of a choice. and i think happiness is an action. when you begin to see it's an action versus a choice, you're making changes in your life the allow yourself to have a happier existence. >> i'll check you later. existence. >> i'll check you later. peace. to severe ulcerative cols takes you off course. put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when i wanted to see results fast, rinvoq delivered rapid symptom relief and helped leave bathroom urgency behind. check. when uc tried to slow me down... i got lasting, steroid-free remission with rinvoq. check. and when uc caused damage rinvoq came through by visibly repairing my colon lining. check. rapid symptom relief... lasting steroid-free remission...

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and finally tonight, it was late american newspaper columnist and minister roy l. smith who said "he who has not christmas in his heart will not find under a tree." i wish that gift for all of us. that's "nightline" for this evening. you can catch our full episodes on hulu. you'll see right back here tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. merry christmas.