In the world’s longest scientific study of happiness, conducted at Harvard University, participants are posed questions to determine their level of happiness at various times in their lives.
In the book “The Good Life” by Harvard professors Waldinger and Schultz, many of the questions posed in the study are provided with the answers given by selected participants. At age 78, I decided to write down my own responses to a few of the questions to see if it revealed anything about how happy I am today.
Perhaps you might enjoy jotting down your own answers. Let me know if you discover something surprising. I did.
Question: If you had to make one life choice, right now, to set yourself on the path to future health and happiness, what would it be?
Question: What is your greatest fear?
Question: What is the secret to aging well?
Question: What is your philosophy for getting over the rough spots?
Question: If you could stop working today without loss of income, would you? What would you do instead?
Regardless of our age, I think we all want to be a tad bit happier.
A letter