Harvard Study Reveals Components of a Life Well Lived for Men

Credit: theguardian.com

A Harvard Study began in 1938 with the goal of uncovering what it takes to live a happy, fulfilled life for most men (its subjects were 268 male undergraduates.) Today, the results are in – and for what is being proclaimed as “the longest-running longitudinal studies of human development in history.” George Vaillant, who’s just published on the subject, has found a number of the results especially surprising. It turns out that a full life and a good death for most men have more to do with will-power than any genetic lottery.

George Vaillant discusses Harvard’s findings. Credit: www2.macleans.ca

“The results are in for what is being proclaimed as “the longest-running longitudinal studies of human development in history.””

The inevitable aging of a male body, while influenced by its genes, relies heavily on the habits formed by men before age 50. “After 80,” says Vaillant, “[health is] determined less by heredity [realities] than by habits.”

He also found an incredible amount of fulfillment in the comportment of retired men, as well as the fact that more males experience contentment in marriage after the age of 70. It seems that aging liberal males made a life of warmth in old age for themselves – and by consequence, had prepared themselves for a good death.

“…more males experience contentment in marriage after the age of 70.”

What makes a man happy: a Harvard study’s findings. Credit: geekinafghanistan.com

There are also the not-so-surprising results: the terrible potential of alcohol to destroy a man’s life; aging liberals have more sex; the power of happy childhood memories to improve everything from a man’s salary to his sex drive. Yet, as Vaillant says about the Harvard findings, these are factors whose influence we can control with the right will-power.

Read more about the study here.

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