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cover of episode Revisited: The Secret to Happiness with Harvard professor Robert Waldinger

Revisited: The Secret to Happiness with Harvard professor Robert Waldinger

2025/5/20
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A Bit of Optimism
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Robert Waldinger
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Simon Sinek
以真诚和学习态度著称的领导力专家和激励演讲者。
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Robert Waldinger: 我发现很多人都关心为世界做出贡献，并且始终保持这种愿望。即使他们一生中追求的目标可能会改变，但那些始终怀有这种愿望的人，我认为他们会保持对生活的热情。这对于他们来说是很重要的。从心理学的角度来看，想要参与到比自身更伟大的事物中，能减少遗憾，并对生活感到满意。我从研究中发现，长寿的人往往都保持着积极的社交和对世界的参与。 Simon Sinek: 我认为从小就培养为比自身更伟大的事物做贡献的愿望非常重要，即使没有完全实现，也能保持较高的幸福感。现在大学和指导顾问并没有引导我们思考如何为世界做贡献，而是关注就业和薪资。人们普遍感到与比自身更伟大的事物失去联系，因此会抓住任何能带来归属感的事物，但这并不能持久。我们应该从小就培养人们的理想主义，鼓励他们为比自身更伟大的事物做贡献。只要我们觉得自己正在接近目标，即使道路艰难，我们也会拥有幸福的生活。

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Chapters
This chapter explores the Harvard Study of Adult Development, its origins, and initial findings on what contributes to happiness. It highlights the study's long duration and the focus on the participants' well-being and aspirations throughout their lives.
  • Longitudinal study of 724 teenagers since 1938.
  • Focus on understanding what contributes to a happy life.
  • Early findings reveal that caring about making a difference in the world is a key factor in long-term happiness.

Shownotes Transcript

We're taking some time off to bring you even more episodes of A Bit of Optimism that you're going to love! In the meantime, we're revisiting some of our favorite episodes, like this one with Harvard professor Robert Waldinger.We all want to live a happy life. But what does the research say about how to achieve it?For more than 86 years, researchers at Harvard University have been trying to figure out how humans can live happier lives.  In one of the longest-running and most comprehensive studies of human happiness, Harvard tracked 724 teenagers through every stage of their adult lives since 1938. Some of them are still alive today and the findings are clear: lasting happiness isn’t about wealth or fame—it’s about something much deeper.

Robert Waldinger, a professor and psychiatrist, has directed the study for over 20 years. His TED Talk about it went viral with nearly 50 million views, and in 2023, he wrote a book about it - *The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness.*I asked Robert to share what the study has revealed about happiness over the decades, how its insights have shaped his own life, and the one essential ingredient for a joyful, meaningful existence.

This…is A Bit of Optimism.

To learn more about Robert and his work, check out:

The Harvard Study of Adult Development)

robertwaldinger.com)