The 1 Thing That Makes A Good Life According To A 75-Year Harvard Study
Fast cars, beautiful women, and big mansions.
That is the dream of many young men. I am not going to lie: myself included.
For some of us, it’s just wishful thinking while others are determined to make it a reality. So they work hard for it by striving for the best possible job or by starting a business. Others want to become sports stars, actors, or musicians to get all the things they dream about.
Some make it and strike it big. They end up living in huge mansions, drive the fastest cars, and sleep with the most beautiful women.
Most men, however, fail and end up living average lives.
But does all of this stuff from a teenage boy’s dream actually make a good life?
Or is it maybe something completely different that we should strive for?
Well, I found an interesting answer.
I found these answers in a TED Talk by the psychiatrist Robert Waldinger.
In his talk, he presents the results of the so-called “Harvard Study of Adult Development”. A fascinating study in my opinion. Probably the longest study of adult life that’s ever been done.
Waldinger is the fourth director of the study, which tracked the lives of 724 men over a 75-year period through regular interviews about their work, health, and personal lives.
The men were closely followed over the course of their lives. The researchers collected the health records of the men’s doctors and even performed regular brain scans and blood draws.
The Big Lesson: What Counts At The End Of The day?
The key findings of this study should give us food for thought.
At least they did for me. Many of us should probably rethink our priorities in light of these findings.
The study found that it is not the things that many of us strive for that actually make for a good life. At least not as much as other things. It’s not money, status, or fame that makes us truly satisfied and healthy.
Instead, what we should all be striving for in order to live a good life are good relationships.
This is more concretely reflected in these findings:
- Loneliness kills. The men who were lonely were less happy, their health, as well as their brain function, declined earlier, and they died earlier than those who were not lonely.
- Bad relationships with a lot of conflicts showed to be bad for our health.
- Relationship satisfaction at age 50 was the strongest predictor of longevity and health. More so than any health marker.
- Quality over quantity. It is not about how many friends you have. It is about the quality of our close relationships.
Lean Into Relationships
I hope these findings will help you live a better life. Maybe they inspire you to call your mum, your dad, or an old friend.
That would make me very happy.
I certainly think this study will make me prioritize my close relationships a lot more.
Thanks for reading!
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