But the surprise for us was that the good life is built on relationships, that what we found was that the people who had the warmest connections with others and maintain those connections as they went through life, those are the people who not just were happier, but they stayed healthier and they lived longer.

Okay, welcome back or welcome to the Finding Mastery podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Michael Jervé, by trade and training a high performance psychologist, and I could not be happier.

I use that word intentionally here to sit down with Dr. Robert Waldinger for this week's conversation.

A psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, Harvard professor, and a Zen master. Bob has spent decades examining happiness as the director of the Harvard study of adult development.

He's leading the longest running scientific study on happiness. It's over eight decades long, following the lives of thousands of participants, which is explored in his newly released book, The Good Life.

This conversation is so meaningful that I trust you will resonate with it. No matter whether you're focused on the good life for yourself, your team, your business, or all of you above.

All of us share a common thread. We're all humans who want to live a life that matters, that's purposeful and fulfilling.

While there are no secrets to happiness, Bob and I dive into the increasing importance of true connection, the anecdote to loneliness, and ultimately what it really means to live the good life.

This is a special one. And if you're enjoying this podcast and haven't already, just a quick reminder to hit the subscribe or follow button, and to drop us a review wherever you're listening.

It is the easiest and zero cost way to support the show. And with that, let's jump right into this week's conversation with Dr. Robert Waldinger. Bob, how are you?

I'm good. I'm glad to be here.

Oh, I'm so happy to be here with you as well. And on that note of happiness, you and your partner have written a seminal book on The Good Life.

And you've nested it on 75 years, I think it is, or maybe it's plus.

It's now 85 years of research at Harvard, and it's an amazing, amazing compilation of insights that you've pulled together.

And so as I'm reading that book, and we're talking about happiness right now, is that I think you and I agree that happiness is not the end of the year, which might be very surprising for a lot of people.

And so can you start with your insight about what you're calling The Good Life, and then maybe string in it.

How you think about happiness as one of the one of the variables of the good life.

Well, what we found in, you know, this vast amount of data over 85 years is that human connection is a huge driver of a good life, right, of well-being of happiness.

But that said, research tells us that happiness isn't just one flavor.

Actually, they're kind of two big flavors of happiness, and maybe a third that research is beginning to show us.

So why don't I say a little bit about those, and then we can talk about the book and our study.

I love that.

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