Dan Buettner on Purpose and Longevity
Written by Siddarth Saikia
"A useless life is an Early Death" -Goethe
The quote by the legendary German writer and philosopher was made in the early 19th century, but new research shows that he may have been onto something. A 2005 study that followed 12,640 middle-aged Hungarians found that those who felt their lives had meaning had significantly lower rates of cancer and heart disease.
The importance of having some sort of purpose to your life has often been highlighted in this blog. Basically it means finding a meaningful reason to get out of bed in the morning. The two most fatally dangerous years of your life are the year you were born and the year you retire. Losing an everyday purpose goes beyond mental well being. Today numerous studies are connecting mental health, particularly stress, with physiological symptoms and diseases. A lack of purpose is similar, a mental issue that can have seriously adverse effects on your body.
Luckily for us, Dan Buettner has provided some tips for finding purpose in our lives. The explorer, Guinness World Record holder and New York Times bestselling author of The Blue Zones recently wrote an article for AARP about purpose and it's importance in attaining longevity. Work, Religion and Volunteering are the three most common avenues of finding purpose and Buettner goes in depth into their importance while providing helpful and scientifically backed tips about how to find our own unique purpose in life.
Give the article a read here.
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