Friends,
Happy New Year! May all have a wondrous, happy, and healthy year. This report on this longitudinal study on happiness out of Harvard University strikes me as positive and helpful. It would be great if K-12 schools could be happy places, too, where youth experience an array of enriching, encouraging friendships and experiences.
Still, it's noteworthy that while happiness is often elusive to achieve, finding it can be as simple as it is profound.
Many of you know of our work in the East Austin community (see earlier post) involving Academia Cuauhtli. It clearly requires of us all a significant amount of work and commitment by very busy people and mostly on a volunteer basis.
We work closely with mostly elementary school youth and parents from 6 AISD schools involving numerous tasks ranging from weekly organizing meetings, developing curriculum, fundraising, data gathering, report writing, community and professional presentations, organizing breakfasts, field trips, bus transportation, advocacy, relationship building, strengthening our community partnerships, building new ones, and the like. It's a bit dizzying to ponder.
Academia Cuauhtli is also our research site with several dissertations and a growing number of research publications emanating from this work, with several studies currently in process (see list of publications from our website). It is a fount of intellectual and theoretical ideas that blurs the lines between so-called "service" and "research," which amount to a false dichotomy that can ironically keep faculty members like myself from ever engaging in community-based research.
Hands down, the payback is personal, professional, and organizational growth and development, especially when facing challenges. This mix amounts to a deep sense of happiness and well-being born out of doing the right thing in and with our community that gives us all back as much as we give them. Throughout, our relationships have deepened. This is not only gratifying but also energizing and life-extending.Harvard Research Reveals The #1 Key To Living Longer And Happier
The longest study ever conducted on human happiness has revealed some fascinating insights about what really leads to health and fulfillment over a lifetime. I had the opportunity to find out more from the director of the 80-year Harvard Study of Adult Development, Dr. Robert Waldinger, as Chester Elton and I interviewed Bob on the Anxiety at Work podcast.
Dr. Waldinger is professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of the important new book “The Good Life.” For more than 80 years, researchers like Bob have tracked the lives of people as part of this study. The project has followed participants from adolescence into old age, collecting data on their physical and mental health, jobs, relationships, and more.
Here’s what Dr. Waldinger says are foundational elements leading to happiness and a good, long life:
Relationships are Key to Health and Happiness
The #1 insight from the Harvard study is that close relationships and social connections are crucial for our well-being as we age. Having supportive and nurturing relationships is a buffer against life’s stresses and protects overall health. According to Dr. Waldinger, good relationships "keep us healthier and happier." People with more robust social connections showed lower rates of diabetes, arthritis, cognitive decline, and other chronic conditions. The researchers hypothesize that close relationships act as "stress regulators"—they help our bodies calm down and return to equilibrium after being revved up by challenging events.
Don't Just Let Friendships Happen, Be Proactive
More than 40 percent of adults say they feel lonely some or all of the time. The participants who actively cultivated relationships over their lifetimes reaped rewards. But they didn’t just let things happen. They made plans with friends, reached out to people, and joined community and social groups. These folks weren’t just posting online and hoping for “likes”; as Dr. Waldinger observed, "The people who were most successful at this didn’t just leave it to chance." He noted that they intentionally nurtured their in-person social connections.
Marriage Has Its Ups and Downs But Provides Lifelong Support
The study found that marital satisfaction was important to long-term happiness but does often follow a U-shaped curve over time. People are happiest when first getting together, and then satisfaction declines when children come along, rebounds when kids leave home, and drops again if adult children return to live at home. Overall, though, having a supportive spouse through life’s journey provided tangible mental and physical health benefits. Marriage offers partners emotional support through stressful events and can help build resilience.
Take Care of Your Body for the Long Haul
The Harvard study found that participants who exercised regularly and maintained their physical health throughout their lives were more able to thrive well into old age. One of the centenarians profiled in the research offered this advice: "Take care of your body like you're going to need it for 100 years."
Other researchers have come to similar conclusions about the essential role relationships play in wellbeing. Social neuroscientist John Cacioppo found that loneliness activates the body’s stress response and can lead to chronic inflammation. His research highlights the balancing role relationships play in regulating our nervous system. Likewise, behavioral economist Arthur Brooks has studied the intersection of happiness, relationships, and purpose. He validates the Harvard study’s finding that "taking care of our relationships" is critical, and that "our connections with others are nourishment for body, mind and soul."
As a practicing Zen Master, Dr. Waldinger brings a unique perspective on the role relationships play in wellbeing. He noted that his Zen training, which focuses on studying the self and seeking enlightenment, offers a complementary window into human experience alongside his Harvard research that has examined the lives of others. He summarizes his findings in this way: "Loneliness kills. Social connections are as important to our long-term health as diet and exercise."
While many ingredients go into a fulfilling life, the Harvard study clarifies that relationships are foundational. So, who have you connected with today?
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