The only "sham" is that when they did the survey again after the Finns learned they are the happiest people in the world, they weren't as happy anymore because now they started to think about it and that made them wonder why they are happy.

You're right, if you don't know how much worse you're life could have been, the minor obstacles will cause the biggest problems in your life, while someone who lives a rough life is gonna appreciate the small positive things.

It's the same with "do you fee safe", ask that to someone in south Chicago and they might think for a wef seconds, then go something like "well, I didn't get shot today, so I feel very safe now". Meanwhile, ask the same question to a person in a small town that has never had any crime in its century long history, except for yesterday when a burglary happened and that person is gonna go full doomer, claiming that their safe town is the most dangerous place on earth, full of crime etc.