We all seem to be on a quest for happiness. We want our lives to have meaning, be satisfying, and we want to be happy. Some of us search for happiness in being of service to others, some of us seek it in a new pair of shoes, some of us seek it at the bottom of a bottle of booze. According to the findings of a 75-year-long study known as the Harvard Grant Study, there is a universal way for all of us to acheive happiness. Do you know the way?
Read more ¿Qué más?: Colombians are the happiest people in the world & I'm not surprised at all
The Harvard Grant Study follows 268 male undergraduates of Harvard from the classes of 1938-1940 for 75 years. It is unfortunate that the study included no women, but given when it started, I guess, not surprising. Still the study found some pretty conclusive evidence of what it takes to be happy.
Huffington Post spoke to George Valliant, the Harvard psychiatrist who directed the study from 1972 to 2004 and wrote a book about it, Triumphs of Experience: The Men of the Harvard Grant Study.
So what's the secret you say? Obviously, it is a combination of things, but the single most important thing you need to lead a happy and fulfilled life is LOVE. Valliant has gone as far as to say that relationships are the only thing that matter in life.
I knew it! Didn't you?!
What about money you say? Surely, those with more money are happier, you think. The study found that money doesn't necessarily make you happier. FYI, I'm pretty sure it didn't find that money makes you sad, though. Again, here what really matters is your relationship to your work, not necessarily how much you are getting paid. Are you "content' with your work?
From what I gather, if you want to be happy, you should pursue love in everything because it makes you feel connected, it strengthens your relationships. You know that whole "do what you love, love what you do" philosophy.
I think this is great news because I have always been a sucker for love.
Image via Thinkstock
