The Harvard Study of Adult Development (2015)

Generosity and relationships are strongly related to happiness. Generosity, or being a giver, provides lasting satisfaction and flourishing over a lifetime. It also allows people to be happy without needing to consume more. Good relationships are also key to happiness, as they provide social and physical health benefits that continue for decades. Loneliness has been shown to damage health, while social connections enhance well-being and longevity. Together, generosity and relationships can help people flow happily through life with the support of others they care for unconditionally.

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The Harvard Study of Adult Development (2015)

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Section 41
Many psychologists are working on requirements for a happy life. Happiness has gotten to be
a genuine area for researchers. With psychologists turning their heads from diseases to staying
mentally healthy, new answers to happiness have begun to be found. Since happiness is
strongly related to two key elements, generosity and relationships, inferences should be
made for both. First of all, people's primary aim in life is having a purpose and while
following them to find meaning. Rather than pleasures that a person will consume in a short
time and can not get out of that consumption cycle, people need satisfaction that will balance
their intellectual and moral virtues throughout their life. The pursuit of this satisfaction
comes from having different virtues moderately in life requires generosity which is the
first key of happiness. Building moderation in life brings happiness and retaining this about
flourishing over time. However, generous people full of love and compassion who are ready
to share what they got without the thought of waiting for reciprocity have this moderation in
their life. Research shows that being a giver provides flourishing constantly, which provides
happiness in conclusion (Birnbaum & Fredman, 2014). Giving takes nothing from people
and also allows people to have gratification they will carry throughout their lives. In the same
way, generosity makes people live happier.
As a result of whether money and fame do not bring happiness, there must be things that
accompany people in their lives to keep them healthy and happy. As a second key for
happiness, people need good relationships to be healthy mentally and physically. According
to the research The Harvard Study of Adult Development (2015), people who have
relationships based on healthy foundations are also observed to have good physical health
over the decades. And another thing that Waldinger emphasizes how loneliness can cause
damage to people’s physical health.’’ People who are more isolated than they want to be from
others find that they are less happy, their health declines earlier in midlife, their brain functioning
declines sooner and they live shorter lives than people who are not lonely.’’ (Waldinger, 2015,
5:55). As one can see, the support of good relationships continues throughout life, as is the
satisfaction of generosity for a happy life. With these two key elements, people can flow
happily in time with their warm, protective relationships with people they give
unconditionally.
I believe what we have is what we give. Living for yourself literally has no meaning in this
huge blue world. We have so many beautiful things in life to keep alive and we can shine a
light on them just as a small light beam. Virtues we have intellectually and morally makes our
existence generous in itself. No matter how small the change we make, only this giving makes
a person truly happy. For example, we see people who have had privileges and luxury in life
without trying. They are not happy. This shows that what actually matters is the journey to
have and to give. In brief, following the path we give progressively bring lifelong happiness.
Never ends.
References
Birnbaum, T. H., & Friedman, H. H. (2014). Gratitude and generosity: Two keys to success
and happiness. SSRN Electronic Journal.
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2398117
Waldinger, R. (2015, November). What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on
happines [Video]. Ted Conferences.
https://www.ted.com/talks/
robert_waldinger_what_makes_a_good_life_lessons_from_the_longest_study_on_happiness