Stephanie Ciarkowski

Professor Niemiec

Lifespan and Development SPY 223-01

May 10, 2021

What Makes a Good Life

The overall lesson I took from this ted talk is that happy and healthy relationships

keep people healthy. The speaker conducting the ‘Ted Talk’ discusses how this Harvard

study shows that people that have healthier and happier relationships with friends,

family, and significant others tend to live long lives. They also tend to be much happier

and pleasant throughout their older age. Some claimed that around their 80’s, some

people who complained of pain were still happy. Those were those in happy

relationships, whereas those who were not complained of being in pain and unhappy.

They found that those who maintained these good relationships and leaned into them

were healthier mentally and physically.

This Ted Talk included three main findings; social connections are good for

people, quality of relationships is important, and good relationships protect bodies and

brains. Social connections are good for people and it is said that loneliness kills. It has

been proven that those who participated in this study who were not in healthy, happy

relationships eventually became forgetful and were somewhat grumpy. Loneliness turns

out to be toxic for people. It can cause people to become angry and unhappy, affecting

more than just one relationship. The quality of the relationships is also very important.

High conflict marriages without affection are bad for health and said to be worse than
getting divorced. It causes people to be petty and miserable during the duration of these

relationships. Another point that was made was that good and warm relationships help

protect people. Those who were happier and more satisfied with their relationships in

their youth, were all healthier in their older years. This includes healthy relationships

and healthy bodies. They all were less likely to develop diseases/disorders such as

schizophrenia. This study also helped prove that good relationships protect bodies and

minds. Being in a securely attached relationship causes people to have better memories

in old age, than others who were not. It makes people have a better outlook on life and

be more positive through good and bad situations.

What makes a good life for me is happiness. I feel that it is very important to be

happy in your own way, for me I enjoy having genuine people and healthy relationships.

I am not much for material things, so it means a lot to have kind and good people

around me. My family, boyfriend, and friends are all good people. I like to keep a close

group because I know they all aren’t toxic and they all make me happy. If someone

causes any type of toxicity or negativity in my life, I confront it and if there is no change I

remove them. I value my happiness and mental/physical health over others. If people

cause problems in my life, I don’t tend to allow it to go on. Some things I can do to

ensure my life is fulfilling is keep good, healthy relationships and remove the unhealthy

ones. I can also improve my social connections and try to venture out. More friends

couldn’t hurt, as long as they’re good friends.