What makes you happy? Harvard study shows that money is not the most important factor, but good relationships

Money is not the most important factor in a happy life.

In the book "The Good Life", researchers from Harvard University explain what, according to a long-term study, really makes you happy. 

What makes us happy in life?

A long-term study by scientists at Harvard University, which is currently much cited, revolves around this question.

The study is so remarkable because the researchers have been following people from different generations for more than 80 years and wanted to find out what positively influences their well-being.

"The Good Life": money for happiness not the most important factor

The study began back in 1938. Among the first participants were graduates of Harvard University as well as men from poorer backgrounds.

To date, the researchers have accompanied hundreds of test subjects and their families and interviewed the participants, for example, and examined their CVs and medical data.

They have now published the results of decades of research in the book "The Good Life".

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Of course, money plays a role in life – but it takes a lot more to live a happy life.

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© Thomas Trutschel/photothek/Imago

The most important factor for a happy life are good relationships, as the long-term study from Harvard University shows.

This includes, for example, a well-functioning relationship with your partner, a good relationship with your family, but also, for example, good friendships or a collegial relationship among work colleagues.

The money factor is therefore not so important for a happy life.

Fame or one's own status are not among the most important factors either.

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According to the Harvard study, good relationships are the most important

that a happy life includes covering the most important economic needs

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First of all, according to him, it is also “important to take care of physical health: healthy eating, lots of exercise, no obesity, no alcoholism.

Do not smoke."

But “then we asked ourselves,” explains Waldinger, also in the

interview: “What is the best way to predict whether someone will age happily?

And the answer was: The warmth of a person's relationships is crucial.” Relationships can also reduce stress, as the study leader explains, among other things.

"You may know the feeling: when you talk to a friend about your frustration, you almost physically feel the relaxation."

Invest in “social fitness”.

One of his theories is that people should invest in “social fitness”.

"We are quite consciously drawing an analogy with physical fitness," he says in the interview.

"You don't say after a single workout: Well, that's it.

When it comes to relationships, people often think: It will take care of itself, we've known each other for so long.

But in our study, we see time and time again how close relationships drift apart and eventually die out altogether because the parties involved don't care enough about them.”

List of rubrics: © Thomas Trutschel/photothek/Imago