In 1938, Harvard researchers began following a group of young men to learn what makes a good life. Almost nine decades on, the strongest finding in their data is not wealth or achievement, but something quieter.

What follows is reflection on a long-running piece of research, not advice. We are writers and editors reading the literature, not clinicians, psychologists, or therapists. The study at the centre of this piece is observational, and patterns drawn from one cohort are not prescriptions for any single reader’s life. In 1938, what became the Harvard [...] The post In 1938, Harvard researchers began following a group of young men to learn what makes a good life. Almost nine decades on, the strongest