The Three Secrets of True Happiness
Love... Love... Love...
Throughout their lives, people have pursued happiness, and countless studies have been conducted on the topic. The results of one of the longest and most comprehensive studies to date sum up all these research findings. Science puts it simply: Happiness in life comes through our relationships.
Led by Harvard University psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, this 75-year study is one of the longest continuous studies on adult life and encompasses the results of numerous investigations. Initiated in 1938, the happiness levels of 456 people, aged between 12 and 16, have been recorded at regular intervals throughout their lives. Biennial surveys with these individuals have looked at criteria such as marital status, job satisfaction, and social activities. Every five years, they have undergone comprehensive physical examinations. The major discovery revealed by the research is summarized by the researchers as follows: Being in good relationships makes us happier and healthier!
Waldinger summarizes the prescription for happiness in three points:
1- Establish close relationships with family, friends, and social circles.
2- Focus on the quality, not the quantity, of those relationships.
3- Have a stable, supportive marital life.
"Society emphasizes work and making money above all else. Yet, our 75-year study shows that the happiest and healthiest individuals in old age are those who invest in their relationships with family, friends, and social circles," says Waldinger.
Waldinger supports with science what many of us feel in our hearts. So, it seems there's nothing left for us to do but fill our lives with more love towards ourselves, other people, and other living beings.
You might also want to listen to Waldinger's TED talk about the secrets of happiness. www.ted.com/talks/
