The Power of Positive People
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Highlights
- Researchers have found that certain health behaviors appear to be contagious and that our social networks — in person and online — can influence obesity, anxiety and overall happiness.
- “Friends can exert a measurable and ongoing influence on your health behaviors in a way that a diet never can,”
- In a moai, the group benefits when things go well, such as by sharing a bountiful crop, and the group’s families support one another when a child gets sick or someone dies. They also appear to influence one another’s lifelong health behaviors.
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“I argue that the most powerful thing you can do to add healthy years is to curate your immediate social network,” said Mr. Buettner, who advises people to focus on three to five real-world friends rather than distant Facebook friends. “In general you want friends with whom you can have a meaningful conversation,”
- Your group of friends are better than any drug or anti-aging supplement, and will do more for you than just about anything.”