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How This 102-Year-Old Responds to a Question About Life Speaks Volumes
Is this the secret to long-term health?
“Blue zones” have the highest concentration of 100-year-olds on the planet. But what makes them special? Are there any commonalities that lead to longevity? Is there a secret formula for happiness that they’ve cracked?
Many people have wondered whether it’s because of their clean air, fresh food, or island lives. Others have wondered if it’s because of their connection to nature or a good set of genes.
In a recent podcast between two of my favorite people — Jay Shetty and Zach Bush — a new thought emerged and it doesn’t include what they eat, where they’re located (Japan, Costa Rica, Greece, California etc…), or even if they do or don’t drink alcohol.
It’s more beautiful than that.
What many of these centenarians ask one another reveals a great deal about their philosophy (and potential staying power).
They don’t ask what did you have for dinner last night but who did you have dinner with?
This suggests they care less about eating healthy food and more about cultivating healthy relationships. None of them track what they eat, drink, or smoke, and none of them care how often they exercise. Their only metric for health and happiness is who they did all of those things with.
Laughter is their currency.
Love is their language.
Peace is their way.
This holds up under the scrutiny of science too.
Science now confirms that when we eat together in groups, when we dance, sing, drum, knit, play bingo, watch movies, and pretty much do anything together, we feel better. We feel more connected. Life has more meaning.
This shouldn’t be surprising as we’re social animals after all. However, these centenarians know and live by it.
That’s why I’ve stopped asking what did you have for dinner last night and rather who did you have dinner with?
This is the way to stay young.
This is the secret to happiness.
This is the way to enjoy this weird and wonderful world until the end.
Author of Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way — Dan Buettner — spent years studying and living with elderly people from Blue Zones and he came up with a condensed formula for a happy life. Not from his own conclusions but from the lips of those he was with.
It’s a formula I now have hung on my wall.
“Drink without getting drunk.
Love without suffering jealousy.
Eat without overindulging.
Never argue.
And once in a while, with great discretion, misbehave.”
