Great, hopefully now you are on your way to a happier you and a happier future. But what about that mystery question? Well, let's get right to it. The mystery question was, according to scientific conclusions, what do you think was discovered to be the most important thing you need in order to be happy? Now, here's your clue. It's one of the 10 things we studied in thoughts and actions.
Can you guess which one it is? Well, humans are social animals. And this can be traced back down to our evolutionary timeline. And because we're such social animals, it's in our DNA, that we require human connections, not only to survive and thrive, but also to be happy. So the answer to your question is spending time with friends, or actually more specifically, a sense of human connectedness, having a strong sense of human connectedness really is what will have the biggest impact on any human being sense of happiness. Have you ever heard of the grant study?
This is very interesting. It shows the relationship of this connectedness, this warmth of relationship to happiness. The grant study is one of the longest running longitudinal studies of human development. The project which began in 1938, has followed 268 Harvard Graduate men for 75 years plus measuring an astonishing range of psychological anthropological and physical traits from personality type to IQ, to drinking habits to family relationships, in an effort to determine what factors contribute most strongly to human flourishing. And they're finding showed the stronger your sense of connectedness to other people. The stronger your network, the stronger your relationships to others.
People earn An average of $141,000 per year more and even more interesting than that these people were 300% more likely to achieve extreme professional success. George valiant, one of the men involved in this study and American psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School, and director of research for the Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital said quote, unquote, the 75 years and $20 million expended on the grant study points to a straightforward five word conclusion. Happiness is love full stop. So what is your ticket to happiness? Well, it's your sense of love, not necessarily for your family, but moreso for your friends and community. There's something to think about.
And if you'd like to know more about this particular study, I highly recommend listening to one of the directors for the grant study. Talk about the study's background and results. It is fascinating. You can find it on YouTube or Ted calm. If you search under this title, what makes a good life? lessons from the longest study on happiness?
So ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. These are the 10 steps, the 10 paths towards happiness. And let's not forget, be the teacher. How can you do that specifically with this lesson? Well, don't forget your happiness checklist, print out that happiness checklist, print a couple copies, give them to friends, give them to family members, and see where did they sit on their own checklist? Where do they strongly agree?
And where don't they where do they have room for improvement in their own happiness? So once again, ladies, gentlemen, I really hope that you found as much value in this lesson as I have, and I'll see you for the next core lesson. Number 11 on resourcefulness