Charles Duhigg wrapped up his book Supercommunicators with an excerpt about the Grant study.
The Grant study is a famous 85+ year longitudinal study that started in 1938. It tracked a group of adults, then their spouses and kids for over 70 years. The story of the study is in itself fascinating – it was first funded by a businessman trying to figure out what characteristics he should be looking for while hiring storekeepers. After funding the study with $7 million over 20 years, he pulled off funding because he didn’t believe he was getting his money’s worth.
Then, in 1970, a group of psychiatrics pulled out the study results and journals and found an immense wealth of research about participants over time. So they began secured funding and began doing follow ups.
The most fascinating stories were those of people who were expected to succeed before the break. However, many of these turned out to be depressed human beings who were sad and lonely. And vice versa.
When the researchers eventually analyzed seven decades of data, they found some correlations.
Having loving parents made it easier to find happiness.
Possessing genes related to physical hardness and longevity was helpful, as was exercise and eating well.
Access to good education early in life as well as a lifelong commitment to learning also provided a leg up.
But one thing mattered more than anything else in terms of clearly predicting if a person was happy in their life – the quality of their relationships.
The people who were most satisfied in the relationships at age 50 were the healthiest and happiest at age 80. One researcher put it bluntly – “The most defining factor for happiness and satisfaction of life is love, not romantic love, but the love and connection with our friends, family, coworkers and their community.”
In sum, love and connectedness was causal to success and happiness.
