The Harvard Study of Adult Development is 85 years old. It is probably the longest study of human development in history. During the few decades that I’ve been following its updates, the study consistently leads to the conclusion that there is one factor that leads to greater happiness, health, and longevity. That factor is the quality of our relationships. It is a better predictor than genetic, educational, career achievement, and financial factors.
That should be encouraging news to everybody, because good friendships are accessible to everyone – regardless of family background, career, or money. Good friendships, however, do require some work. To have a good friend, it is important to be a good friend, and that doesn’t come naturally to some people. Also, life’s circumstances sometimes result in a focus on family and/or career at the expense of developing friendships. The good news, however, is that it’s never too late to start acquiring and/or strengthening the quality of your relationships.
If you are out of practice when it comes to making friends, it can sometimes be as easy as being more visible in your community or reaching out to others at work. Maybe you haven’t spent enough time strengthening the quality of your relationships with other family members. I’ve also met some great friends in various organizations I’ve been involved with and some classes that I’ve taken. If you’re not involved in your community or place of worship, you may be surprised at the good friendships that can be developed there.
The basic take-away from this post is to recognize how important good relationships are in the development of your health, happiness, and longevity. Being socially connected is part of being human. If you haven’t been paying attention to the quality of your relationships, it’s time to learn from the time-tested findings of a study that’s gone on for 85 years.