Get a Goal: Having a Purpose Gives You an Edge

Study points to incentive's ability to reduce stress hormones and lengthen lifespan.

Whether you believe you have some purpose to fulfill on earth or just have trips you plan to take and books you want to read, you have a survival edge over people with fewer goals. So say researchers at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago who interviewed more than 1,200 older adults.
Elders with sure intentions and goals were about half as likely as aimless seniors to die over the five-year follow-up.

More on stress:
6 Steps for Gaining Control in Your Life
5 Simple Ways to Lift Your Spirits
6 Ways to Gain More Time in Your Day

From Reader's Digest - September 2009

 

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