6 things that make people live longer, happier lives

GR8 2B

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For those interested in such things (heavily edited for brevity):

Harvard followed 800 people over the course of multiple decades and found 6 things that make people live longer, happier lives

Harvard followed 800 people for their entire lives to see what actually makes people live happier, healthier, and longer. The Study of Adult Development combined three massive longitudinal studies — research projects that followed people from youth until old age — to figure out what makes a good life.

  • a sample of 268 socially advantaged Harvard graduates born about 1920 — the longest prospective study of physical and mental health in the world.
  • a sample of 456 socially disadvantaged Inner City men born about 1930 — the longest prospective study of "blue collar" adult development in the world.
  • a sample of 90 middle-class, intellectually gifted women born about 1910 — the longest prospective study of women's development in the world.
1. Avoid smoking and alcohol

Smoking was the #1 predictive factor of health. And drinking too much doesn't only hurt your health; over time it makes you less happy, screws up relationships [and] is also an independent cause of problems, not merely a result.

2. Years of education = good

The physical health of the 70-year old Inner City men was as poor as that of the Harvard men at 80, but the health of the college-educated Inner City men at 70 was as good as that of the Harvard men at 70. This was in spite of the fact that their childhood social class, their tested IQ, their income, and the prestige of their colleges and jobs were markedly inferior to those of the Harvard men. Parity of education alone was enough to produce parity in physical health.

3. A happy childhood

How much someone was loved as a child predicted their adult income better than knowing what social class they were brought up in. The best predictor of a high income was not their parents' social class but whether their mother had made them feel loved. Successful adolescence predicted successful old age. What went right in childhood was much more predictive than what went wrong.

4. Relationships are everything

Social aptitude — sometimes called emotional intelligence — not intellectual brilliance or parental social class is what led to a well-adapted old age. One of the biggest mistakes we make when it comes to relationships [is not] working hard enough to create new ones when the old ones fade away. Successful aging requires continuing to learn new things and continuing to take people in ... a widening social radius at age 50 was just as important to successful psychosocial aging as emotional maturity.

5. Coping skills

How you cope with the inevitable problems of life has far-reaching, long-term consequences. These four mature coping strategies are not only associated with maturity, but they can be reframed as virtues: doing as one would be done by (altruism); artistic creation to resolve conflict and spinning straw into gold (sublimation); a stiff upper lip, patience, seeing the bright side (suppression); and the ability not to take oneself too seriously (humor).

6. 'Generativity'

Bottom line: "generativity" is giving back. Generativity means community building. Research reveals that between age 30 and 45 our need for achievement declines and our need for community and affiliation increases. When we're young, we're all a little selfish. We need to figure the world out, we need to figure ourselves out and we need to build a life. But when that is done, the best way to selfishly improve your life is to be unselfish and focus on helping those around you. Spend your first few decades building a good life and a well-rounded self — and then spend the remaining decades sharing with others what you have gained and learned.
 

itsgr82bag8r

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#1 should be more wins than losses to F$U & UGAy.
 

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