When John Helliwell married his wife, Millie, 52 years ago, the two were already incredibly close. “She may have been my best friend then, though it wasn’t something I thought about,” Helliwell says about their courtship, which gave way to a joyful and rewarding partnership that’s still going strong.
Decades into his marriage, Helliwell, a professor emeritus of economics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, not only started to think about happiness more, but to take a professional interest in the factors that influence our well-being.
In 2017, Helliwell’s research confirmed that marriage increases happiness, and people who think of their spouses as their best friends experience twice as much happiness as other married people. Because Helliwell considers Millie his closest friend, it follows that their relationship boosted his happiness throughout the past half-century.
Helliwell isn’t the only academic to glean meaningful lessons from his own findings to live life more fully. Research also shows that happiness isn’t just about a fulfilling marriage.
Reader’s Digest spoke with several happiness experts to see what they’ve applied from their work to lead more satisfying lives. Palliative-care physicians also shared insights they gained through helping patients plan for the future, bolstering important relationships, and appreciating each day—before it’s too late. Here is some of their advice to incorporate into your own life.
Accept That Age is Just a Number
Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av Reader's Digest India.
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Denne historien er fra June 2023-utgaven av Reader's Digest India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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ME & MY SHELF
Siddharth Kapila is a lawyer turned writer whose writing has focussed on issues surrounding Hinduism. His debut book, Tripping Down the Ganga: A Son's Exploration of Faith (Speaking Tiger) traces his seven-year-long journey along India's holiest river and his explorations into the nature of faith among believers and skeptics alike.
EMBEDDED FROM NPR
For all its flaws and shortcomings, some of which have come under the spotlight in recent years, NPR makes some of the best hardcore journalistic podcasts ever.
ANURAG MINUS VERMA PODCAST
Interview podcasts live and die not just on the strengths of the interviewer but also the range of participating guests.
WE'RE NOT KIDDING WITH MEHDI & FRIENDS
Since his exit from MSNBC, star anchor and journalist Mehdi Hasan has gone on to found Zeteo, an all-new media startup focussing on both news and analysis.
Ananda: An Exploration of Cannabis in India by Karan Madhok (Aleph)
Karan Madhok's Ananda is a lively, three-dimensional exploration of India's past and present relationship with cannabis.
I'll Have it Here: Poems by Jeet Thayil, (Fourth Estate)
For over three decades now, Jeet Thayil has been one of India's pre-eminent Englishlanguage poets.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Penguin Random House India)
Samantha Harvey became the latest winner of the Booker Prize last month for Orbital, a short, sharp shock of a novel about a group of astronauts aboard the International Space Station for a long-term mission.
She Defied All the Odds
When doctors told the McCoombes that spina bifida would severely limit their daughter's life, they refused to listen. So did the little girl
DO YOU DARE?
Two Danish businesswomen want us to start eating insects. It's good for the environment, but can consumers get over the yuck factor?
Searching for Santa Claus
Santa lives at the North Pole, right? Don't say that to the people of Rovaniemi in northern Finland
