Harvard Happiness Expert Shares Simple Two-Minute Tip to Strengthen Social Connections

A leading Harvard researcher says a quick text message could be the key to long-term happiness and social wellbeing.

Speaking at the New York Times Well Festival, Dr. Robert Waldinger, director of the 87-year-long Harvard Study of Adult Development, emphasized the importance of “social fitness”—the practice of maintaining strong personal relationships.

Group of friends | Source: Pexels

“Invest in relationships, invest in connections and invest in the things you find meaningful,” Waldinger told attendees. “If you’re doing more of that, you’re more likely to be happy more of the time.”

To illustrate how easy it can be to nurture relationships, Waldinger offered a simple exercise that takes less than two minutes. He encouraged the audience to take out their phones, think of someone they haven’t seen in a while or want to connect with more, and send a brief message: “Hi, I was just thinking about you, and I wanted to connect.”

“When I talk about investing in relationships, most people think, ‘You know, I am so busy. I have so much going on in my life. How do I make time for this?’” he said. The answer, he noted, lies in small, repeated gestures.

Group of friends | Source: Pexels

According to Waldinger, people who are socially fit routinely take small steps to stay in touch. They might make a phone call during a commute or plan workouts with a friend. These habits help build “a bedrock of social wellbeing,” he explained.