In 1939, researchers from the Harvard Medical School asked, “What makes for a happy life”? Between 1939 and 1944… they enrolled 268 Harvard sophomores… including future President John F. Kennedy… and 456 young men from some of Boston’s poorest, toughest neighborhoods… in what would eventually become known as the Harvard Study of Adult Development.
The researchers tracked these 2 groups of men from radically different backgrounds… and later their spouses and children… throughout their entire lives… some for almost 80 years. Year after year they were asked questions about their families… marriages… income and jobs. They were asked about their hobbies… and even how often they exercised. They met with psychiatrists… social workers and marriage counselors. Brains were scanned and blood was drawn. Medical histories were reviewed… and more recently… DNA samples were taken and analyzed. All to figure out what makes for a happy life.
So… after collecting thousands of pages of data… what did the researchers come up with? They discovered that the things we think contribute most to our happiness… things like money… prestige… popularity… and success…don’t matter as much as we thought.
What they did find is that the happiest people were… by far… those who were involved in close, loving relationships throughout their lives. These were the people who talked and listened to one another… who trusted and believed in one another… and who cared and counted on one another.
The researchers found that the key… the single, most powerful driver of happiness is these relationships… was love. People who love one another are the happiest. Period.”
Love. Let’s give it a try… making our relationships a priority from now until the New Year. And come Jan. 1, perhaps nourishing relationships can be our highest intention for 2025.
Wishing you a joy filled holiday season and your healthiest New Year yet!
