#254 mit Dr. Robert J. Waldinger, Professor at Harvard Medical School, Director of “The Study of Adult Development”, TED

Today we are speaking to our guest about his lessons from the
longest study on happiness. We will ask him: What brings us
happiness and keeps us healthy as we go through life? Many people
would think money and fame are the answer to a meaningful life. He
will tell us: They are not! Our guest today is a Harvard
psychiatrist, a Zen priest, and a psychoanalyst. He is the fourth
director in history, of the Harvard Study of Adult Development,
which is possibly the longest study of adult life ever done. For
more than 80 years, his team and their predecessors tracked the
lives of 724 men. Year after year, they asked about their work,
their home lives, and their health—trying to determine what we need
for a meaningful and healthy life. About 60 of their original 724
men are still alive, still participating in the study, most of them
in their 90s. And they are now studying more than 2,000 Baby Boomer
sons and daughters of these men. Since I watched his TED talk,
which is one of the most popular TED talks of all time (37 Mio
viewers), I am a huge fan of his work and his personal story. We
are so honored and proud to have him as our guest in our Podcast
today. For almost exactly 4 years we are on our “way to new work”.
How can a topic that plays such an important part in our everyday
life create more meaning in our lives again? How do we get people
to draw strength and motivation from their daily work again? And
how can one succeed in living a happy, healthy, productive and
fulfilling life even in such difficult times? We are looking for
methods, role models, experiences, tools and ideas that bring us
closer to the core of New Work! We are always concerned with the
question of whether everyone can really find and live what they
really, really want in their innermost being. You are at “On the
Way to New Work” today with Robert Waldinger.