The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness

by Robert Waldinger

Aristotle,

“The life of money-making is one undertaken un...

“and wealth is evid...

the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake...

Money has never made man happy,

“Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”—Maya

Money can’t buy h...

yet money remains a central object of desire in cultures almost everywhere.

affects how people live.

The overall effect of money is so significant that people with high incomes

can expect to live ten to fifteen years longer than people with low incomes.

Once a household income was more than $75,000 per year,

average family income in

the amount of money that people earned showed no clear relationship to daily reports ...

money can’t buy happiness,

for those making less than $75,000 per year, more income did correlate, modestly, with more happiness.

Having a basic amount of money allows people to meet those needs, have some control over life, and in many countries affords access to better health care and living conditions.

money matters most at lower levels of income where a dollar, euro, rupee, or yuan is used to provide basic needs and a sense of security.

Once you get beyond that threshold, money does not seem to matter much, if at all, when it comes to happiness.

“More money d...

necessarily buy more happiness, but less money is associated w...

At lower levels o...

necessary for survival, safety, and a sen...

But at slightly higher levels of income (and this needn’t be $75,000) the meaning ...

status and...

freedom.

you might think, and the more money I have, the more choice and control I will have.

to buy a fishing boat

Leo used money as a means to achieve some satisfying personal ends—ends that connected him to the people he cared about.

The Hidden Injuries of Class, “badges of ability.”

personal merits that are publicly acknowledged.

the more we compare ourselves to others—even when the comparison is in our favor—the less happy we are.

He believed he had control over his life,

he had a mother who loved him; she advocated for him, believed in him, and supported his aspirations. Thanks in part to her encouragement and support, Alan Silva was one of the few Boston men who went to college.

all of us have a rich mix of things we can’t control and things we can. Each of us must find ways to work with the hand we’re dealt.

When we obsess over things that fall outside of our control, Epictetus said, we make ourselves miserable.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

people who were more socially connected had less risk of dying at any

Good science requires that findings be replicated.

strong social connections were associated with increased odds of living longer.

social connection increased the likelihood of surviving in any given year by more than 50 percent.

mortality rate of individuals with th...

comparable to the effect of smoking on getting cancer. And smoking,

Saying something matters and saying it seals one’s fate are two very different things.

“statistically significant”

Previous research suggests that

human beings have a “happiness set point,” or a baseline level of happiness that is influenced largely by genetics and personality traits.

Our actions and the choices we make account for about 40 percent of our happiness.

we are adaptable.

we also get used to better circumstances.