Are You Happy?

Updates from the Harvard Study on Happiness and Health

Clapping along to “If You’re Happy & You Know It”

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. Clap! Clap!

Adults of a certain age remember that participation nursery rhyme. Would you give two enthusiastic claps if you were singing along today?

One of the longest studies of adult happiness and well-being began at Harvard in 1938 and continues today. The current study director has a 12-minute TED Talk viewed nearly 50 million times since 2015!

Here is the link if you’re interested in watching. https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness?

There were two outcomes from a study update worth exploring. The research team found people with strong bonds with others “tended to lead happier, healthier, and longer lives as they aged.” Think of this as the quality of our relationships.

Investing time in building strong family relationships, deep friendships, and a sense of community with others has more of an impact on happiness than fame or wealth.

I once reported to a younger sales manager who wanted to become an operating company leader like his father (who worked for our company). He was a numbers guy and a stint in sales management was considered essential on his pathway up the corporate ladder.

Ultimately the status and position the sales manager coveted wasn’t meant to happen. He left the company many years before I did, but while we worked together, he usually appeared stressed and rarely seemed to enjoy his job. Before reaching thirty, my manager had a variety of health issues he shared in conversations when we worked together. If he were in the cohort of the Harvard Study of Adult Development I wonder how he would fare?

The other revelation that piqued my interest came from the study’s director on a recent podcast.

Relationship satisfaction at age 50 is the single greatest predictor of physical health at age 80

There’s no additional data I could find to support this statement beyond the Harvard study which is a small sample of a few thousand. If you are a regular Older, Bolder & Better! reader you know my family members have a history of longevity. Beyond the length of their lives, most have been blessed with active minds and mobile bodies.

Even though my family comprises a tiny sample size I have studied them closely. When the octogenarians in my family were in their fifties they had varied interests from travel, and bowling, to my grandfather playing bridge in ABA-sanctioned tournaments around the country. Whether it was activities with their neighbors or work colleagues, they created a community outside of our close family unit whether they were married or not.

We know that money alone can’t buy happiness. We see that every day in the lives of celebrities. I’ve heard “your health is your wealth” for so long, that I’ve picked it up as a personal mantra. I have walked more since retiring. Whether walking along the trails in the city—the Monon Trail, the expanded Cultural Trail, or the Nickel Plate Trail, I take a break from the computer to walk, enjoy the scenery, and clear my mind. My t-shirt from a cruise to Central America is a wearable reminder.

“If you’re happy and you know then your face will surely show it. If you’re happy and know it, clap your hands! All together now—Clap! Clap!”