We're sunsetting PodQuest on 2025-07-28. Thank you for your support!
Export Podcast Subscriptions
cover of episode The Secret to Happiness with Harvard professor Robert Waldinger

The Secret to Happiness with Harvard professor Robert Waldinger

2024/12/3
logo of podcast A Bit of Optimism

A Bit of Optimism
AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
People
R
Robert Waldinger
主
主持人
专注于电动车和能源领域的播客主持人和内容创作者。
Topics
Robert Waldinger教授领导的哈佛成人发展研究长达80余年，追踪724名青少年的生活，研究结果表明，持久的幸福并非来自财富或名利，而是更深层次的东西。研究发现，从小就渴望为比自己更大的目标做出贡献，即使没有完全实现，也能保持高于平均水平的幸福感。渴望参与比自己更大的事业（generativity）能让人在回顾人生时减少遗憾，更有满足感。现代社会人们缺乏归属感，容易抓住任何能提供这种感觉的东西，但这种依附往往短暂。数字革命加剧了社会孤立的趋势，人们渴望归属感。研究中，那些拥有最多联系的人，其社交圈子是灵活且个体化的，他们充当连接不同群体的人的节点。主动联系朋友，而不是依赖他人安排社交生活，能增进友谊。照顾好身体对长寿和健康至关重要。长寿的人通常注重身体健康和社会交往，而短寿的人则相反。预防疾病比治疗疾病更重要，但预防疾病的措施往往无法带来经济收益。追随热情能让人更有活力，而做自己不热爱的事情则会消耗能量。应该关注与朋友相处后的感受，选择那些能让自己感到快乐和充满活力的人。在选择方向时，要考虑事情的整体情况，而不仅仅是单一的热情。热情不在于工作本身，而在于工作的成果，即使过程中有痛苦，但成果带来的喜悦能抵消一切。工作的成果和对成果的认可能带来满足感，缺乏这种认可会让人感到沮丧。人生目标是理想化的，无法完全实现，但追求目标的过程和沿途的收获能带来幸福。满足基本需求能提升幸福感，但超过一定程度后，财富的增加对幸福感的影响并不显著。金钱对幸福感的影响有限，而名利则可能带来负面影响。名利带来的代价是隐私的损失，但如果能以此传播有益的信息，这种代价是值得的。为了获得幸福，应该与人交往，并参与自己关心的事情。 主持人就哈佛幸福研究结果与Robert Waldinger教授进行了深入探讨，并结合自身经验分享了对幸福的理解。探讨内容涵盖了幸福的来源、社会联系的重要性、如何平衡理想与现实、以及如何找到人生目标等方面。主持人还对现代社会中人们普遍存在的孤独感和对归属感的渴望表达了担忧，并与Robert Waldinger教授一起探讨了解决方案。

Deep Dive

Chapters
The Harvard Study of Adult Development, spanning over 85 years, has tracked 724 individuals to uncover the secrets to a happy life. Robert Waldinger, the study's current director, reveals surprising findings.
  • The Harvard Study of Adult Development tracked 724 people for over 85 years.
  • The study aims to understand what constitutes a truly happy life.
  • Robert Waldinger, the current director, has led the study for over 20 years.

Shownotes Transcript

We all want to live a happy life, but what does research say about how to actually achieve it? 

For more than 86 years, researchers at Harvard University have been trying to answer that question.  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)