Building a Life of Wellness: The Science of Fostering Happiness and Health Span

A decline in social relationships and an increase in stress levels have been identified as notable causes for rising mental health issues, which in turn are impacting one’s overall happiness and health. This global mental health pandemic underscores the critical need for research-based strategies and effective health and wellness solutions.

The Building a Life of Wellness: The Science of Fostering Happiness and Health Span program blends the latest research on well-being with evidence-based techniques to cultivate and sustain long-term relationships, which supports health and wellness. During the program, you will acquire the skills to develop strategies to improve supportive relationships, build resilience to navigate life transitions and reduce stress, and analyze the profound impact that social connections have on our overall health, happiness, and longevity.

The program’s cutting-edge curriculum integrates research-based strategies on well-being with proven techniques, helping you enhance your quality of life. Throughout the program, you will gain an understanding of how to enhance well-being and longevity with research-based frameworks and align goals with life actions and values.

The Building a Life of Wellness program will help you:

Analyze evidence-based research on wellness, happiness, and longevity to develop frameworks for overall well-being
Design and implement impactful action plans by incorporating evidence-based techniques proven to enhance personal and others' well-being
Cultivate supportive relationships and successfully navigate major life transitions
Build resilience and coping mechanisms to transform challenges into opportunities for personal growth
Establish well-being metrics and use them to critically evaluate progress and adapt approaches as needed
Examine life stages, personal values, and risk factors to align actions with fulfillment and goal achievement
Articulate the central role relationships play in well-being

Robert Waldinger, Program Director

Full Bio

Module 1: Foundations of Well-Being and Life Stages

Examine the disconnect between what you think will make you happy and what actually makes you happy
Discuss the stages of life and the potential challenges at each stage
Describe important changes currently happening in your life
Identify questions you have about the next stage in your life
Describe your personal views about life, what’s important, and how your views have changed over time
Identify how lessons learned from the past can influence your current or future behavior

Module 2: Cultivating Values and Purpose

Discuss the similarities and differences between values and purpose
Evaluate your current and desired use of practices related to values and purpose
Identify your core values
Examine how your values are expressed through your daily activities
Evaluate the congruence between your stated values and how you currently allocate your time
Evaluate the alignment between your current life trajectory and core values

Module 3: Building and Sustaining Life-Affirming Relationships

Evaluate the quality of your current relationships to identify areas for improvement and enhance overall relationship satisfaction and well-being
Classify key people and relationships in your life
Classify the types of support received from key relationships
Evaluate the diversity and quality of your personal relationships, noting areas of strength and potential gaps in social support
Discuss the impact of loneliness and isolation
Describe the impact of altering your typical social behavior in a routine activity
Identify actions to take to develop new or strengthen existing relationships

Module 4: Navigating Life Transitions with Resilience

Identify significant life transitions
Analyze the impact of significant life transitions
Identify strategies for managing life transitions
Describe anticipated challenges or concerns associated with future life transitions

Module 5: Strategies for Responding to Life’s Challenges

Evaluate your current and ideal responses to life challenges
Identify specific aspects of a challenging situation, including associated emotions and personal response strategies
Analyze and manage a challenging situation using the WISER model and alternative tools or strategies
Evaluate the effectiveness of the WISER model in managing challenges
Formulate a strategy for addressing a future challenge using the WISER model
Make connections between responding to challenges and life stages perspective, values and purpose, relationships, and transitions

Module 6: Implementing Happiness Practices

Create a personal mission statement to guide daily decision-making based on your core values
Evaluate and refine strategies for nurturing core relationships to enhance overall well-being
Identify essential activities that contribute to your well-being
Identify internal and external resources for facing challenges
Develop a personalized daily well-being plan that integrates core values, core relationships, challenge management, and self-care activities, fostering a sustainable approach to enhancing overall well-being
Reflect on personal growth and set intentions for future well-being