Watch this TED talk by Robert Waldinger, psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School. He discusses some of the results of the Grant study, which has followed groups of men over a 75 year, longitudinal study, and explains some of the factors leading to a happy life.
How do you define happiness for yourself?
Do you consider yourself a happy person right now?
What do you need in your life in order to be happy now and in the future?
Who are the people in your life who affect your happiness?
Did you feel the same way when you were my age?
What is the biggest difference between what you thought would make you happy when you were younger and what did make you happy as you got older?
Write a 4-5 page paper that synthesizes and reflects upon the responses to these questions. As you write the paper, compare and contrast your own answers to the questions and those provided by the older person you interviewed. Were there similarities in your answers? What were some of the differences? Do you think happiness means something vastly different for younger vs. older people? Explain.
