.png)
Warm relationships protect your mind and body from the slings and arrows of life.
You might be wondering how we can be so sure that relationships play such a central role in our health and happiness. How is it possible to separate relationships from economic considerations, from good or bad luck, from difficult childhoods, or from any of the other important circumstances that affect how we feel from day to day? Is it really possible to answer the question, What makes a good life?’s exactly right. Balance is a verb, and mindfulness makes it more doable.
After studying hundreds of entire lives, we can confirm what all of us already know deep down — that a huge range of factors contribute to a person’s happiness. The delicate balance of economic, social, psychological, and health contributors is complex and ever-changing. Rarely can any single factor be said, with absolute confidence, to cause any single result, and people will always surprise you. That said, there really are answers to this question. If you look at the same kinds of data repeatedly over time, across large numbers of people and studies, patterns begin to emerge, and predictors of human thriving become clear. Among the many predictors of health and happiness, from good diet to exercise to level of income, a life of good relationships stands out for its power and consistency.