What really makes us happy? When you think of your own happiness, do you dream about money, fame, recognition, time, travel, love, overcoming your struggle with emotional or binge eating?
The answers, says Robert Waldinger, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and Zen priest may surprise you…and he actually knows! Dr. Waldinger is the Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies in history.
For more than 75 years, Harvard researchers have been studying men. Originally, half being studied were Harvard students. The other half were teenage boys from tenements and disadvantaged areas of Boston. Over time, the wives and children of the original test subjects were added to the study.
When it comes to what makes us happy and healthy, the study has revealed fascinating results about the impact of close relationships vs loneliness, the quality of close relationships and the impact of conflict — even the impact of good relationships on our brains as we age.
Check out Dr. Waldinger’s TED Talk and let me know if anything about these results surprised you. Comment below.
