Longest study on happiness

January 10, 2024

• https://the-good-life-book.com/
• https://www.adultdevelopmentstudy.org/grantandglueckstudy
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUHowWFJNBg

Key findings:

• the study found that the people who stayed healthiest and lived longest were the people who had the strongest connections to others
• when we sense that time is limited, emotional well-being becomes a priority
• the men replied that they wished they hadn’t spent as much time at work, but with the people they cared about. the women replied that they wished they hadn’t worried about what people thought of them. for both genders, their proudest achievements all had to do with relationships.
• it may be tempting to focus on money or achievements because they’re measurable, and we tend to prioritize what we can measure
• material things lend themselves to comparisons. but experiences either strengthen pre-existing relationships with people, or help us meet new people.
• the path of least resistance seems to be driving us towards increasing social isolation, so we need to be intentional in structuring our lives both at home and at work to counter this trend.