The Harvard Happiness Study & What it Takes to Be Socially Fit | Dr. Robert Waldinger

The Art of Charm

In today’s episode, we cover happiness with Dr. Robert Waldinger. Bob is the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, a 75-year-long Harvard study of adult life, and the co-author of The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.

Our social fitness was shaken over the last few years thanks to the lockdown, so what can we use from the longest study on happiness to improve our social fitness and rebuild lost relationships?

What to Listen For

• Introduction – 0:00
• How did the “Harvard Happiness Study” come about?
• What is the Harvard Study of Adult Development and how did it start?
• Social Fitness – 13:01
• What is social fitness and how did the pandemic affect your social fitness?
• The Biggest Motivation for Self Development – 24:18
• What gives you the greatest motivation to improve your life?
• What is the secret to happiness and how do you implement it at any age?
• How do you make new friends? – 37:11
• What should you say when you want to reconnect with someone?
• How to stop feeling lonely?
• How do you start a conversation with a coworker?
• What are unhappy marriages missing? – 46:00
• How do happy couples stay happy forever and how can you implement in your relationship?

The Harvard Study of Adult Development turned out to be the longest running study about what makes people happy. Considering the increase in mental health issues and loneliness that we experienced over the last few years, the wisdom learned from the study has the potential to help us recover our pre-pandemic social fitness and get back enjoying life again.

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Resources from this Episode

• Harvard Study of Adult Development website
• The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study on Happiness
• Dr. Robert Waldinger’s website

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