It’s not wealth, fame or even success in your career. According to this Washington Post article, Harvard researchers have found that the key to the happy life is…relationship.

The 75-year-old Grant Study is the oldest of its kind. It has followed the lives of men from Harvard University and Boston area tenements since the late 1930’s and early 1940’s.

The project’s head researcher, Harvard psychiatrist Robert Waldinger, says that there is one clear takeaway: The happiest and healthiest participants were the ones who maintained close, intimate relationships.

Reading the article made me wonder, how much time do we spend focusing on the quality of our relationships?

Many of us meet regularly with a financial advisor to assess our retirement plans. We meet with supervisors or business analysts to review the trajectory of our careers. But how often do we set time aside to specifically focus on assessing the quality and trajectory of our most intimate relationships?

For many of us, meeting occasionally with a trusted friend or therapist to reflect on our relationships is probably just as important. What if we made it just as much of a priority?

Written By: Eric McClerren, LAPC