Sunday, November 28, 2010

On Happiness and Long Life: Dan Buettner-Another NPR Find

On this morning's NPR Weekend Edition show, I caught a piece of an interview with Dan Buettner, a researcher examining why people are happy (or unhappy) in an interview titled, "How To 'Thrive': Dan Buettner's Secrets Of Happiness."


He's recently published some fascinating results that had me sitting there in the car with the engine running rather than taking my groceries inside-you know, typical NPR.  His results are cross-cultural, examining people from Denmark, Singapore and the US.  The happiest people are just over an hour away from me in San Luis Obispo, California where they had taken steps back in the 70s to focus on quality of life rather than commerce.  It seems to have paid some 'happy' dividends.  Buettner also examines the myriad factors that go into happiness including health, financial security, sunshine, location, vacation time, jobs we love (or not), and more.  Check out the story at the link above.  

Below is a YouTube link for a speech to a TED conference.




posted by Chuck Schallhorn

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