From Further Secrets of Adulthood: Hell is other people. Heaven is other people.

Ancient philosophers and contemporary scientists agree:

To be happy, we need relationships. @gretchenrubin (Click to Tweet!)

We need enduring, intimate bonds; we need to be able to confide; we need to feel like we belong; we need to be able to get support–and just as important for happiness, we need to be able to give support.

Hell is other people. Heaven is other people, too.

Agree, disagree?


Gretchen Rubin is the author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller The Happiness Project—an account of the year she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier—and the recently released Happier at Home and Better Than Before. On her popular blog, The Happiness Project, she reports on her daily adventures in the pursuit of happiness. For more doses of happiness and other happenings, follow Gretchen on Facebook and Twitter.

Image courtesy of creativevix.com.