One of the longest longitudinal studies in history—a 95 year long Stanford University study—discovered a secret to living a longer more fulfilling life.

What is a Longitudinal Study?

Longitudinal studies utilize measures to follow individuals over prolonged periods of time—often years, or in the case of the Stanford study, decades.

The study discovered that living a stress-free life doesn’t equate to a longer life-span, nor was it found to make a person happier. So, just what will promote happiness and longevity?

The Study

Stanford University psychologist, Lewis Terman, was famous for revising the “Binet” test, which resulted in the test’s pervasive use of I.Q. measurement. Then later, Terman identified a group of kids who scored 135 or higher on the I.Q. test, and he used this specific group of 1500 children to begin one of the longest longitudinal studies ever conducted.

Gathering data on large groups of people, over a very long span of time, allows scientists to identify the link between cause and effect, which shorter studies will usually miss. For example, it’s nearly impossible to identify whether life’s situations in a person’s 30’s will end up promoting happiness in his/her 70’s, unless the study subject is evaluated at age 30, then again at age 70.

Study Findings

So, if a carefree, low stress life does NOT make a person happy, just what does? According to Terman’s study, those who actively pursued their goals (and were highly engaged in their work) were the individuals who lived the most fulfilling lives. Interestingly, it was those who worked the hardest who ended up living the longest. It didn’t make a difference whether the study subjects achieved their goals, or not. It was the act of actively pursuing the goals that promoted happier, longer lives. Whether or not the person realized his/her goals made no difference in happiness level, but, rather, simply going after one’s dreams, was the impetus in maintaining a higher rate of satisfaction in life.

Conversely, study participants who were “carefree, undependable and unambitious [not driven by a strong desire or determination to succeed] in childhood and very unsuccessful in their careers, had a whopping increase in their mortality [death] risk,” according to a recent inc.com article.

The goals for personal success were individualized, according to what, exactly, were most important to each participant in the study. For one person, an educational goal may have been the impetus for a happier outcome in life; while for others, an advanced degree may be the furthest thing from their minds—rather, the pursuit of business entrepreneurship may have been the most impactful goal.

Other factors in the study found to promote happiness and longevity included:

-good relationships

-having greater willpower and perseverance

-staying focused and determined

-being resolute in the pursuit of goals

Conclusion

So, it’s important for those who want to live past 100 well to contemplate what is important and what success means to you; then go to work putting those goals to the test, with a plan of achieving each one of them. Keep in mind that while most of us dream of a happy, laid back, carefree lifestyle, “happy-go-lucky” people don’t thrive; those who are conscientious, and persistent, however, do—according to the study.


Resource

https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/this-95-year-stanford-study-reveals-1-secret-to-living-a-longer-more-fulfilling-life.html