What Keeps Us Happy and Healthy?

Introduction

A recent study on millennials: 80% have the primary goal of becoming rich, 50% want to be famous.
The pressure to achieve more makes us believe that happiness is tied to wealth and fame.

Started in 1938, tracked the lives of 724 men for 75 years.
Inquired about their professional, personal, and health lives.
The study continued thanks to luck and researchers' efforts; 60 of the men are still alive, and their children (over 2000) have joined the study.
Formed two groups: Harvard students and the poorest boys from Boston neighborhoods.
Tracked changes over time, some became successful while others struggled.

Social connections are beneficial and loneliness is deadly:
- Social engagement keeps people happier and healthier, and they live longer.
- Loneliness leads to deteriorating health and mental performance and shortens lifespan.
- More than one in five Americans feels lonely.
Quality of relationships matters more than quantity:
- Conflicted relationships harm health; a conflict-ridden marriage is worse than divorce.
- Warm relationships offer protection from aging.
- People satisfied with their relationships at age 50 predicted their health at age 80.
- Satisfied individuals in relationships experience less physical pain and emotional problems in old age.
Good relationships protect the brain:
- Deeply attached relationships maintain memory clarity.
- Those who feel they can rely on their partner retain their memory longer.
- Good relationships mitigate the effects of hardships and physical pain.

Relationships are complicated and messy, and working on them isn't appealing.
Happy individuals in the study worked hard to maintain their relationships in retirement.
The false belief that fame and wealth are the keys to happiness.

"Life is short, there is no time for quarrels, apologies, and vengeance, there is time for loving only, just an instant so to speak."