Be BrainWise and Be Happy

Posted On: September 30, 2020
Research on happiness has exploded including an academic publication called the Journal of Happiness Studies. Nobel Prize winners Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton publish extensively on the subject, and universities now offer a doctorate degree in positive psychology. The Harvard Study of Adult Development, renowned for collecting more than eighty years of data[1] is recognized for its measures of happiness.

Its findings offer insights that apply to anyone who wants to improve the likelihood they will live a long and happy life.
b2bc0fbc ce25 44cb b4b5 ac923909e847
S
Robert Waldinger, MD, Director
            Harvard Study of Adult Development
S

Harvard professor Robert Waldinger, a psychiatrist and director of the study, makes three recommendations for living a long and happy life. When you have mastered the 10 Wise Ways, it is easy to follow the recommendations.

First, research shows that social relationships keep us happy and healthy. People who live lonely lives – who did not have satisfying relationships — die younger.  Wise Way #2, the Constellation of Support, teaches you to surround yourself with individuals who help you prevent and solve problems. Establishing relationships that are double lines may require finding people who support you unconditionally and don’t sabotage your efforts under the guise of family or friendship. A relationship with a valued pet can be an important part of your support system, as can spirituality.
More than 56 million Americans say they are “often” or “always” lonely, and past stories in the BrainWise newsletter have has discussed this finding. In fact, recent research found that relationships are the reason loneliness has not peaked, but remained the same, during COVID-19. The pandemic has led to people using more social media on their internet devices to stay in touch and to reach out to family and friends they may have lost touch with before the pandemic.
1b655e94 af1e 4686 ab63 1c2151259dc9
S

Second, the quality of your social relationships and your satisfaction with them counts! The people in your Constellation of Support should be individuals who have your back and who make you feel good.  You know they care about you and want you to succeed.

The third recommendation plays off the first two: Meaningful relationships and strong support systems are vital not only to physical health, but they also protect our brains. Associating with people who care about you helps you stay mentally sharp as you get older.  The Harvard Study found that people with the most active social lives had the slowest rate of memory decline.
More Research on Happiness…..
S
203fa7b1 383a 40b4 9994 dfcdc299fa62
S
Arthur Brooks, PhD, 
Harvard University
Dr. Arthur Brooks is a social scientist who teaches a class on happiness at the Harvard Business School. He says that the building blocks of happiness – family, career, friendships — “give you tools to enrich your life and the lives of the people you love.”  He summarized thousands of academic studies on happiness and the findings were the same: Enduring  happiness comes from human relationship, productive work, and the transcendental elements of life.  He sums it up. “People who have loving relationships with family and friends thrive; those who don’t, don’t.”
The 10 Wise Ways are tools that help you build and assess your relationships. If you need to boost your support system, take action and find sources that make you feel good. Volunteer, get involved in community groups or churches, or join organizations with a local or global presence.
c4de9a17 66b3 4355 90a7 95009c9eabab
I belong to Rotary and am rewarded by the double lines that members throughout my community as well as the world have added to my Constellation of Support. This is another way that relationships pay off.  Research shows that those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer.
[1] Study participants originally were Caucasian males. The Glueck Study in 1970 added inner city men.  Women were added in 2007.
S
The first lesson in BrainWise is “Everyone has Problems” and it points out that people with fewer problems have learned and assimilated the skills to stop and think. The next two lessons teach how to use your Wizard Brain and to build a strong Constellation of Support. The remaining Wise Ways are interconnected with these lessons. Each one contributes skills that help to build and maintain the other skills.

It is important to use your brain to process the events in your life and to think about the consequences your choices have now or later and how they affect you and others. The attached BrainWise CPR problem-solving worksheet will help you assess your problems and will help others to do the same (child and teen-adult worksheets). Our relationships with others are critical to our happiness and will help us throughout our lives.

Take care and be safe!
Please follow and like us:

BrainWise Bridges Technology

The previous BrainWise newsletter discussed research that showed the importance of human interaction and its benefits for improved mental health and longevity. Increasingly, youth and young adults are using chatbots to fulfill this role. But how can instructors integrate Machine Learning (ML) into teaching the 10 Wise Ways and what is the future use of […]

Read More »

Reflections on Research and the Impact of BrainWise

Loneliness. “Join or Die” is the title of a new documentary about Dr. Robert Putnam’s extensive research on loneliness (https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=4oDVf8sOG9w.) The Harvard political scientist wrote Bowling Alone in 2000 and presented data showing the transformation of Americans from being social joiners to becoming isolated individuals. He warned of the negative consequences of this shift, […]

Read More »

BrainWise and Indigenous Populations

In college, Matt Sena taught BrainWise at a youth center in Grand Junction, Colorado and wrote his Master Thesis on BrainWise and young fathers. Twenty-five years later, he is a BrainWise Master Instructor, member of the BrainWise Board of Directors, and cherished colleague. Matt has taught BrainWise to thousands of youth and adults, written grants, […]

Read More »