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Robert Waldinger

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Categories: Motivation | Happiness | Spirituality & Mindfulness

Robert Waldinger is a top life balance and happiness keynote speaker, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and the current director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development.

Robert Waldinger is a life balance and happiness keynote speaker, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and the current director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. His research has inspired his famous TED talk: “What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness.”

As Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, Robert Waldinger oversees one of the longest-running studies of adult life, which has tracked the lives of two groups of men for over 75 years.

Robert Waldinger is a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and Zen priest. He is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and directs the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the longest-running studies of adult life ever done. The Study tracked the lives of two groups of men for over 75 years, and it now follows their Baby Boomer children to understand how childhood experience reaches across decades to affect health and wellbeing in middle age. He writes about what science and Zen can teach us about healthy human development.

He is the author of numerous scientific papers as well as two books. Waldinger teaches medical students and psychiatry residents at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and he is a Senior Dharma Teacher in Boundless Way Zen.

Interviews

Books

Speaking Topics

WHAT MAKES A GOOD LIFE? LESSONS FROM THE LONGEST STUDY ON HAPPINESS

What keeps us happy and healthy as we go through life? If you think it’s fame and money, you’re not alone—but, according to a long-running life study, you’re also mistaken. As the director of an 80-year-old study of adult development, Robert Waldinger has unprecedented access to data on what brings true happiness and satisfaction. In this talk, Waldinger shares three important lessons learned from the study as well as some practical, old-as-the-hills wisdom on how you can build a fulfilling, long life.

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE AREN’T THINGS — WHAT REALLY MAKES US HAPPY

Would you rather be rich in things or experiences? Advertising, Facebook, and most media give the impression that material wealth is the key to a good life. On the other hand, wisdom traditions have long taught us that material wealth does not bring lasting joy. Science supports this wisdom, showing that material things make us less happy (and for shorter periods of time) than experiences, and personal connections bring more joy than physical objects. Taking findings from his lifespan research, the teachings of Zen, and examples from the media, Robert Waldinger shares the difference between what we expect to make us happy and what actually creates a sense of wellbeing.

WHY RELATIONSHIPS IN THE WORKPLACE MATTER MORE THAN YOU THINK — AND HOW TO EMBRACE THEM

Relationships are vital not only to our personal health and happiness — they’re also central to an organization’s success. Research has shown that productivity on a team and in larger organizations depends less on IQ and/or aggressiveness than on positive personal connections with others. The quality of these connections impacts loyalty, job satisfaction, collaboration, and innovation. Despite this, worker disengagement is running rampant, with loneliness in the workplace at an all-time high. So how do organizations cultivate a relationship-centric approach in order to empower a higher-functioning workforce? In this talk, Robert Waldinger shares research on how organizations can help or hinder people’s psychological and physical health and gives advice on how companies can create more healthy work environments.

DEALING WITH CHANGE — LIFE TRANSITIONS AND PREPARING FOR THE INEVITABLE

How we deal with change has a profound effect on our work lives and personal contentment. Marriage and children, promotions and retirement, old habits and new behavior, vacation freedom and work pressure: We’re constantly facing transitions. Managing these life transitions well is central to our health, happiness, and productivity. In this talk, Robert Waldinger discusses how understanding the stages of adult life can play a critical role in dealing with the transitions all of us must face, how relationships are critical to dealing with these transitions, and how a game plan for transition is critical to happy, healthy and productive lives and organizations.

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