What's the secret to happiness? Love, and meaningful relationships

Spend more time with family and friends this year. - 123rf

It's really quite simple: love and you will be happy. Being connected and considerate to those dear to you – family or friends – is the secret to happiness, according to the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the world’s longest-running studies on adult life.

The ongoing study, which started in 1938 with 724 men (including a group of Harvard sophomores and men from Boston’s poorest neighbourhoods from troubled backgrounds), tracked the lives of participants in the hope of uncovering the “secrets” to a healthy and happy life.