Robert Waldinger made many good points on what it truly means to be happy. He opened up with some profound statistics about what millennials want in life and what they think will make them happy. His survey shows that ”80% of millennials want to be rich, and 30% of the same millennials want to be famous”(Waldinger). This is unsettling because it is scientifically proven that neither of these things truly make you happy. He then introduces His study known as The Harvard Study which watched well off and underprivileged kids from the Boston area grow from adolescence to late adulthood . At the end of this study the healthiest individuals were the ones who had the healthiest relationships throughout their life. Things like toxic relationships, divorce, alcoholism, and loneliness all contributed to the demise in some participants health. Robert emphasizes ” good relationships keep us happier and healthier” (Waldinger). He also supports the claim that “social connections are good for us and loneness kills” (waldinger). This not only supports his theory but also enforces the fact that the things that millennials want does not actually make you happy. An important fact that he stated is that “it is not the number of friends or if you are in a relationship, it is the quality” (waldinger). This is a major problem for millennials. Most of us are more concerned with how many followers or likes we have and do not really focus on who is actually our real friends. He ends by saying that good life is brought about by food relationships and the statistics are there to support his claim.
