Last year I heard a story about this village in Guatemala– one of the most poverty stricken areas on Earth. This little village is considered one of the poorest in the country. There’s no running water, everyone lives in small shacks, and most of the children don’t even have shoes to wear.
No need to describe in further detail – you’ve seen pictures or video of places like this before and can use your imagination.
It’s bad… like WAY bad!
But… the fascinating thing about this village is not the story of struggle, pain, poverty, and negative assumptions you might have – it’s actually nothing like that at all. Well, yeah… they are poor, I’ll give you that… and they don’t have the luxuries that a lot of the world has come to expect.
However, despite all of that, this small village is known as one of the happiest and healthy places on the planet (as is Guatemala in general).
How the hell could that be?
The speaker told us in the audience that after visiting this village and seeing first hand the extreme happiness of the people… one thing became clear – their love for each other was so strong that nothing else mattered.
They are ONE… and their sense of community and social interactions are all they need to be happy!
Despite their circumstances, this village is considered to be one of the healthiest and happiest group of people in the world. When everyone in a social group simply wants to help out, give love, and share great experiences together, selfishness tends to vanish. Oh… how great the world could be if this were the case for everyone!
This completely destroys all preconceived beliefs about what most people think is the key to a happy life.
I just read Eric Barker’s blog and immediately thought of that story. He mentions his favorite book about a lifelong study of 1000 people and what was discovered about living a healthy and happy life. Check it out below…
It inspired me to shoot you a quick video about an experience I had last week at my Grandma’s house. One of her friends, whose 87 years old, told me something that just sums up what life is all about. Watch this video and at the end I want to issue you a challenge. If you’re up for it then let me know by commenting below or just get a hold of me however you can.
What My Grandma’s 87 Year Old Friend Told Me that Proves My Dreams are Worth it…
What Studying People From Birth To Death Teaches Us About Living A Good Life
Eric Barker, Barking Up The Wrong Tree
One of the most interesting books I read this year was The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study. They studied over 1000 people for the duration of their lives – from childhood until old age — giving them regular physical and psychological tests and tracking the results.
What they discovered confirmed some things we all believe about what it takes to live a good, long life — and more interestingly they found out where our common beliefs are wrong.
One of the things that I found most fascinating was they discovered a strong overlap between what it takes to live a long life and what it takes to have a happy life.
… many (but not all) of the recommendations for happiness are nearly identical to recommendations for maintaining health.
For example, those trying to improve their happiness are advised to do the following things:
• Watch less TV
• Improve social relations— spend time with friends
• Increase levels of physical activity— go for a long walk
• Help others and express gratitude to those who have helped you
• Take on new challenges to remain fresh and in-the-moment
If there was one main takeaway from the study and the book, it was how important relationships are:
… connecting with and helping others is more important than obsessing over a rigorous exercise program.
And it wasn’t getting help from others that conferred a long life. It was giving help.
We figured that if a Terman participant sincerely felt that he or she had friends and relatives to count on when having a hard time then that person would be healthier. Those who felt very loved and cared for, we predicted, would live the longest. Surprise: our prediction was wrong… Beyond social network size, the clearest benefit of social relationships came from helping others. Those who helped their friends and neighbors, advising and caring for others, tended to live to old age.
The good do not die young, as the old saying goes. In fact, they live longer.
… there’s no real evidence that the good die young. In fact, although there are always some exceptions (which are therefore notable), generally speaking, it’s the good ones who can actually help shape their fate; the bad die early, and the good do great.
Want to make your life better? This study shows it’s your relationships that can determine whether or not you succeed.
The groups you associate with often determine the type of person you become. For people who want improved health, association with other healthy people is usually the strongest and most direct path of change.
Another more recent study confirmed this.
Via Charles Duhigg’s excellent book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business:
In a 1994 Harvard study that examined people who had radically changed their lives, for instance, researchers found that some people had remade their habits after a personal tragedy, such as a divorce or a life-threatening illness. Others changed after they saw a friend go through something awful, the same way that Dungy’s players watched him struggle.
Just as frequently, however, there was no tragedy that preceded people’s transformations. Rather, they changed because they were embedded in social groups that made change easier …When people join groups where change seems possible, the potential for that change to occur becomes more real.
A long, happy life doesn’t come from a perfect diet or exercise regimen. You’ll find it in those you surround yourself with.
My compilation on what it takes to live a long life is here.
Originally published on Bakadesuyo.com
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