Fellow blogger Gretchen Rubin wrote an interesting post the other day on the significance of staying connected to co-workers, friends, and (pets?) from your past … they’ll help you stay happy. You can catch her blog on the Huffington Post. Here are some excerpts:

A while back, my husband and I noticed a characteristic we shared – neither of us did a particularly good job of staying connected with our past. It was true of us as a couple, too, once we got married. In each stage of life, we’d have good friends, but when we moved to the next stage, we found it difficult to stay connected to the people to whom we’d earlier been close. I’m not sure I would have remarked on this fact if I hadn’t seen the contrast to my younger sister – she does an outstanding job of staying close to friends from every stage of her life. 

Philosophers and scientists agree: if there is one element that is the key to happiness, it’s having strong relationships with other people. Many of my happiness-project resolutions are aimed at helping me build or strengthen friendships: Show up, Make three friends, Join or start a group. (Here are some other tips for making new friends).

Also, remembering happy times in the past is a great way to boost happiness in the present.

My resolution to “Stay connected to my past” is meant to address both these sources of happiness. As a consequence of this resolution, I sign up for high-school, college, and law-school reunions without hesitation. I don’t begrudge the time I spend on Facebook. I make a big effort to keep my friends’ contact information up-to-date. I keep a one-sentence journal. I look for reasons to visit my old neighborhoods.

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