The Study of Adult Development is a rarity in medicine. Quite deliberately it set out to study the lives of the well, not the sick. In so doing it has integrated three cohorts of elderly men and women – all of whom have been studied continuously for six to eight decades.
Whether we live to a vigorous old age lies not so much in our stars or our genes as in ourselves.
Source: Business Insider, August 26, 2018. Link.
To sum it up, this is how to make your life awesome:
- Avoid smoking and alcohol: Duh.
- Years of education = good: Education seems to increase good habits (and being surrounded by smart, ambitious people never hurts).
- Have a happy childhood: It’s huge. And surrounding yourself later in life with people who love you can help repair a difficult youth.
- Relationships are everything: “Happiness is love. Full stop.”
- Mature coping skills: Stop projecting and stop being passive-aggressive. Use mature defenses like humor when life gets hard. (Yes, immature humor is still mature coping. You’re welcome.)
- Generativity: Build a good life, a well-rounded self and then give back.
INSIGHTS: Our industry has focused on its people in recent months more so than in the past. This article uses a multi-decade study of guideposts to a happier life fits into the mix of information to promote wellness for industry pros.