Vishen LakhianiFounder of Mindvalley | NYT Bestselling Author | Transforming Lives Globally

The #1 connection to human happiness | Vishen

2 Jun 2022 · 1 min

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Vishen Lakhiani summarizes Ed Diener’s "Very Happy People Study", reporting that the single strongest predictor of happiness is strength of social connections (reported correlation r=0.7). He contrasts superficial/online connections with deeper in-person interactions (eye contact, voice, shared experiences) as producing stronger social bonds.

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Ed Diener, the psychologist at Harvard, did a very interesting study called the Very Happy People Study. And he wanted to figure out what makes people happy. So they looked at everything. Is it fancy clothes? Is it warm weather? Turns out there's only one thing that makes you happy, and it has a 0.7 correlation with happiness. For the record, 1 is the highest correlation, means a perfect match. 0.7 is pretty damn high. And it was the strength of your social connections. Now, the problem with online is that you have a connection, but is there strength to it? But when you and I sit down in a cafe and we have a deep, meaningful conversation and we are connecting, ideally looking at each other in the eye, being able to see not just text on a screen, but hear your voice, see your nonverbal cues, that creates the strength in that social connection. So, yes, you can have a connection with someone online, but strength, that's a different thing and that comes from shared experiences.