Robert Waldinger: What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness
Robert Waldinger: Hvad former et godt liv? Lærdom fra den længste undersøgelse om lykke
Robert Waldinger is the Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies in history. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
udgave af dig selv
and your energy?
og energi på?
årgang 00'er
most important life goals were,
vigtigste mål i livet var,
was to get rich.
var at blive rige.
of those same young adults
vigtigt mål
to lean in to work, to push harder
arbejde hårdt, være ambitiøse
are the things that we need to go after
hvad vi skal opnå
and how those choices work out for them,
disse valg udarter sig for dem,
are almost impossible to get.
to remember the past,
folks erindringer,
is anything but 20/20.
er sjældent nøjagtig.
of what happens to us in life,
af hvad der er sket
is downright creative.
ligefrem kreativ.
iagttage komplette liv
from the time that they were teenagers
fra tiden hvor de var teenagere
happy and healthy?
holder folk glade og raske?
of adult life that's ever been done.
af voksenlivet, som nogensinde er lavet.
the lives of 724 men,
their home lives, their health,
hjemmeliv og deres helbred
without knowing how their life stories
uden at vide hvordan deres livshistorie
overordentligt sjældne.
fall apart within a decade
falder fra hinanden inden 10 år
drop out of the study,
dropper ud af undersøgelsen,
further down the field.
giver bolden videre.
of several generations of researchers,
flere generationers forskere
direktør af undersøgelsen.
of two groups of men.
af to grupper med mænd.
at Harvard College.
på Harvard Universitet.
during World War II,
i løbet af 2. verdenskrig,
to serve in the war.
for at deltage i krigen.
from Boston's poorest neighborhoods,
fra Bostons fattigste kvarter,
from some of the most troubled
fra nogen af de mest
many without hot and cold running water.
mange uden rindende vand.
startede i undersøgelsen
and we interviewed their parents.
interviewede deres forældre.
grew up into adults
voksede op
and bricklayers and doctors,
brolæggere og læger,
A few developed schizophrenia.
Få udviklede skizofreni.
all the way to the very top,
hele vejen til den absolutte top,
in the opposite direction.
i den modsatte retning.
standing here today, 75 years later,
stå her idag, 75 år senere,
the study still continues.
at forskningen stadig består.
and dedicated research staff
og dedikerede forskerhold
and asks them if we can send them
om vi må sende dem
about their lives.
vedrørende deres liv.
My life just isn't that interesting."
Mit liv er ikke så interessant."
stiller aldrig det spørgsmål.
of these lives,
af deres liv,
hjemme hos dem selv.
from their doctors.
vi scanner deres hjerner,
about their deepest concerns.
dybeste bekymringer med ægtefællen.
we finally asked the wives
endelig spurgte deres ægtefæller
as members of the study,
i undersøgelsen
"You know, it's about time."
"Det var på tide."
from the tens of thousands of pages
tusindvis af siders
or fame or working harder and harder.
berømmelse eller hårdt arbejde.
from this 75-year study is this:
efter 75 års undersøgelse er:
happier and healthier. Period.
gladere og raskere. Punktum.
about relationships.
ting om relationer.
are really good for us,
relationer er gode for os,
who are more socially connected
som er mere socialt forbundet
and they live longer
og lever længere
turns out to be toxic.
viser sig at være giftig.
than they want to be from others
end de egentlig ønsker
than people who are not lonely.
end folk som ikke er ensomme.
is that at any given time,
at uanset tidspunktet,
will report that they're lonely.
berette at de er ensomme.
can be lonely in a crowd
ensom i en flok
erfaring er,
the number of friends you have,
om antal venner,
you're in a committed relationship,
of your close relationships that matters.
relationer der betyder noget.
of conflict is really bad for our health.
er rigtig dårligt for helbredet.
without much affection,
uden megen kærlighed,
perhaps worse than getting divorced.
og måske endda værre end skilsmisse.
warm relationships is protective.
forhold, virker det beskyttende.
all the way into their 80s,
til de var i deres 80'ere,
into a happy, healthy octogenarian
lykkelig og sund firsårig
everything we knew about them
hvad vi vidste om dem
cholesterol levels
were going to grow old.
blive gamle.
in their relationships.
i deres forhold.
in their relationships at age 50
forhold som 50 årige
seem to buffer us
synes at beskytte os
of getting old.
der er ved at blive gammel.
when they had more physical pain,
havde mere fysisk smerte,
in unhappy relationships,
i lykkelige forhold
reported more physical pain,
mere fysisk smerte
af yderligere følelsesmæssig smerte.
about relationships and our health
sociale relationer og helbred
don't just protect our bodies,
ikke bare beskytter vores kroppe
in a securely attached relationship
is protective,
virker det beskyttende,
on the other person in times of need,
når det brænder på,
stay sharper longer.
i længere tid.
can't count on the other one,
den anden,
earlier memory decline.
they don't have to be smooth all the time.
ikke være lykkelige hele tiden.
could bicker with each other
kunne småskændes med hinanden
could really count on the other
kunne regne med den anden
on their memories.
indflydelse på hukommelsen.
are good for our health and well-being,
er godt for vores helbred og trivsel,
and so easy to ignore?
og så let at glemme?
er et hurtigt fix,
and keep them that way.
og sikre det forbliver sådan.
and they're complicated
to family and friends,
vedligeholde familieliv og venner
eller glamourøst.
Det slutter aldrig.
who were the happiest in retirement
var de lykkeligste pensionister
to replace workmates with new playmates.
kollegaer med legekammerater.
in that recent survey,
i den nye undersøgelse,
were starting out as young adults
da de startede som unge voksne,
and high achievement
to have a good life.
our study has shown
har vores undersøgelse vist
the people who leaned in to relationships,
der hengav sig til relationer,
or you're 40, or you're 60.
40 eller 60 år.
to relationships even look like?
give sig hen til relationer?
are practically endless.
talt uendelige.
as replacing screen time with people time
som at udskifte TV-tid med mennesker
by doing something new together,
ved at lave noget nyt sammen,
who you haven't spoken to in years,
du ikke har talt med i årevis,
kender til
from Mark Twain.
citat af Mark Twain.
heartburnings, callings to account.
og hjertesorg at bære.
so to speak, for that."
kun et øjeblik."
with good relationships.
på gode relationer.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Robert Waldinger - Psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, Zen priestRobert Waldinger is the Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies in history.
Why you should listen
Robert Waldinger is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and Zen priest. He is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and directs the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the longest-running studies of adult life ever done. The Study tracked the lives of two groups of men for over 75 years, and it now follows their Baby Boomer children to understand how childhood experience reaches across decades to affect health and wellbeing in middle age. He writes about what science and Zen can teach us about healthy human development.
Dr. Waldinger is the author of numerous scientific papers as well as two books. He teaches medical students and psychiatry residents at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and he is a Senior Dharma Teacher in Boundless Way Zen.
To keep abreast of research findings, insights and more, visit robertwaldinger.com.
Robert Waldinger | Speaker | TED.com