Do you have what it takes to thrive? This study at Harvard University has taken the subject seriously, tracking more than 260 students for decades, starting back in the 1940s. These researchers found that five simple qualities improve your odds of flourishing later in life.
According to Michael Easter, founder of 2 Percent, those five qualities include:
- Altruism: Unselfish concern for the welfare of others.
- Humor: Making light of stressful and difficult situations.
- Sublimation: Using anger and frustration for good (e.g., creating)
- Anticipation: Being realistic about the future and its challenges.
- Suppression: Controlling unproductive and distressing thoughts.
According to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Pump Club,” when you possess the fab five, the scientists found that you’re three times more likely to flourish. As Easter points out, building your character to include these qualities helps your life by “developing the capacity for emotional warmth and connection to others despite difficult upbringings or individual setbacks.”
The researcheres found that relationships matter a lot too. Men with good sibling relationships when young made an average of $51,000 per year more than those with poor sibling relationships or no siblings.
And if you’re a parent, the relationship you build with your child can have a dramatic impact later in life. “In 1978, Vaillant reviewed a subset of the men who had been healthy at age 40; they were now about 55 years old. Of those with the bleakest childhoods, 35 percent were dead or chronically ill, compared to only 11 percent of those with the warmest childhoods.”
Fitness and nutrition are a big part of leading a physically healthy life. But building your character and focusing on your relationships can dramatically impact how well — as long as how long — you live.
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