For more than 75 years, two students of Harvard, Grant and Glueck, have made a study for the physical and emotional condition of two types of people.
Four hundred fifty poor people who grew up in Boston from 1934 to 2014, were included in the study. The other group was 268 men that graduated from Harvard University from 1939-1944. The first study was the Grant Study, and the second one was the Glueck Study.
During the research period, many types of research must have been changed because it is an extended period, and no one could live that long. The beginnings of the study were before WWII. They made analyzes of the blood samples, made brain scans, many other surveys, and verbal interactions with those men, everything to complete the results.
Robert Waldinger, a director of one Harvard Study of Adult Development, claims that only one thing is the most dominant, and that is:
‘’ The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period.’’ The things that you thought were important, as the blogs that you’re writing, the posts that you’re posting, the followers that you’re gaining, they won’t fulfill you.
The study claims, with proof, that love is the one that will fulfill you and make your life happier. This study says that if you have someone who will be there for you to rely on when you’ve got hard times, the nervous will reduce.
You will be more relaxed, your brain will stay healthier, and the emotional and physical pain will be eliminated or reduced. According to this study, people who don’t have a partner, are lonelier, their physical health will be ruined earlier in life, and they are prone to die younger. The number of friends that you have doesn’t matter; the quality of your close relationship is the thing that is the most important.
So, according to this statement, it doesn’t matter if you have a large number of friends with whom you go out every night, or if your relationship is ‘perfectly romantic.’
But, the quality of the relationship, the amount of vulnerability and depth is there between the people, the partner needs to feel safe near you, to tell you their deepest fears. This means that if from of you they are their selves.
George Vaillant, the expert who managed with the study from 1972 until 2004, claims that only two fundamental elements are essential for fulfilling your life. One is love, and the second one is to find a way to deal with life and hard life situations.
For example, if you have the love of your life. And you undergo the trauma of losing a job, losing a child, or a parent, or brother or a sister, this may result in pushing the love away. This should be a good reminder to know what should you stress about, what should be your priorities. In case you’re still struggling, you can always visit a therapist.
If you don’t want to go to the therapist, you can join a group, invest in a workshop, or find a grief counselor. Personal growth is significant for your further life.
The end of the study reveals that at the end of your life, you may have all the money in the world, have success in your career, have good physical health, but if you don’t have a good loving relationship, you will not be happy.
So, when you have to choose between being of Facebook or being a member with some significant people from your family list or friends list, select the second one.
Or, if you decide to stay in the office on Saturday night, instead of spending some quality time with your sister, change your mind.
‘’ The good life is built with good relationships.’’
Let this Tree of Life Poster became a common symbol of life, ancestry, mythology, lessons of the spirit, history, lineage, and hope for the future.
