This TED Talk discusses the longest ever study on happiness. It followed 724 men from their childhood to their 90s, and it has spanned generations of researchers. These men were originally students from either Harvard or Boston’s worst suburbs. I summarized the main points of the talk below:
- Social connections are really good for us. Loneliness kills. People connected to families, communities are happier, healthier, live longer. More isolated people are less happy, less healthy, brain functioning declines, they live shorter lives. (1/5 Americans are lonely)
- It’s not just the number of friends or being in a relationship that makes you happy, but the quality of those relationships. Living in warm relationships is good, protective. Living in bad relationships is worse than a divorce. Biggest predictor of health at 80 had nothing to do with cholesterol or physical ailments: people who were most satisfied in relationships at 50 were healthiest at 80 (when they had more physical pain, their moods were still happy). But for people in unhealthy relationships, the emotional pain magnified the physical pain.
- Being in securely attached relationship to another person keeps your memory sharper longer.
As we can see, the ultimate takeaway is that good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Nothing about fame or wealth correlates that strongly.* The speaker mentions in the beginning that over 80% of millenials have the goal to get rich, and 50% want to become famous. I don’t know if it’s only millenials who have these unrealistic life aspirations, but watching this TED talk could help a lot of them realize that perhaps that goal isn’t the best one.
*Other researchers have found similar things, that while money may correlate up to a degree, it isn’t as big as we think (https://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_kahneman_the_riddle_of_experience_vs_memory?language=en).
This is so interesting since I'm a mess and a half. I believe the "millennials all want to be rich and famous" stuff since so many of us will try and be a doctor/lawyer/engineer (some try and be all three) to make lots of money. If we can't handle the pre-reqs or don't like school anymore, we try to become actors or singers lol.
ReplyDeleteI honestly am only happy when I don't have to worry about life, which is never. I really wish there was some kind of stone you could hold onto that prevents you from becoming an adult.
Oh well, I think I'm just rambling like a madman at this point.
I think millenials even more focus on the idea "follow your passion" which (as a post I'm making will soon discuss further), isn't always the best career advice.
DeleteI never feel like I have nothing to do, too. Even when I'm slacking off there's something I can be doing, haha. But it's also important to take those moments and enjoy them otherwise we'll freak ourselves out too much.