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Your interest in longevity may be entrepreneurial; after all, people who want to live longer, healthier lives are a huge market. Or maybe, if you hope to be wealthy, theres what Warren Buffett called the Methuselah technique: a long life and a high rate of return. More likely, though, your interest in longevity is personal. We all hope to live a longer, healthier life. The problem is, the recommendation bar for living a longer life can seem impossibly high. One study found you need between 150 and 300 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity to mitigate the risk of death associated with sitting. Another study found you need to jog five days a week for 30 to 40 minutes for your body to have the age progression of someone nine years younger. Fortunately, theres an easier way to add years to your lifespan. Two studies, one that spanned 10 years and the other 30 years, found that high optimism was linked to 11 to 15% longer lifespans, even after taking into account factors like health and socioeconomic status. As the researchers write: Among psychosocial factors that appear to be potential health assets (e.g., social integration), optimism has some of the strongest and most consistent associations with a wide range of health outcomes, including reduced risk of cardiovascular events, lung function decline, and premature mortality. Investigators have speculated that optimism may facilitate healthier bio-behavioral processes, and ultimately longevity, because optimism directly contributes to how goals are translated into behaviors. Thats a lot, so lets break it down. Social integration directly correlates with living longer. A clinical review of nearly 150 studies published in PLOS Medicine found that people with strong social ties had a 50% better chance of survival, regardless of age, sex, health status, and cause of death, than those with weaker ties. Make and keep a few close friends, youll likely live longer. Yet optimism also directly correlates with living longer, since optimistic people tend to behave differently: While everyone has goals, people who fall on the less optimistic end of the spectrum are much less likely to try to achieve their goals. Why start a journey that feels impossible? On the flip side, the researchers say optimism directly contributes to how goals are translated into behaviors. When the journey seems possible, starting feels much easier. Sounds good. But still. Knowing you should be more optimistic, if only to extend your lifespan, is different from actually becoming more optimistic. There isnt a more optimistic switch you can flip. Or maybe there is. Research shows that approximately 25% of our optimism set-point is genetic. That means 75% of your level of optimism can be shaped and learned. For example, participants in a study published in Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry who spent five minutes a day for two weeks imagining their best possible selfin terms of professional, relationship, and personal goalsexperienced significant increases in optimism. If visualization isnt your thing (it isnt mine), try another approach. If, as Jim Rohn says, we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with, simply spend more time with optimistic people. Theyll be more encouraging. Theyll be more supportive. Their enthusiasm will naturally rub off on you. (Plus, youll reap the social integration longevity benefits.) If spending time in groups isnt your thing (it kind of isnt mine), then take a step back and think about your mindset. Generally speaking, people fall into two camps: People with a fixed mindset believe that intelligence, ability, and skill are inborn and relatively fixed; that they are what they were born with. Someone with a fixed mindset might say, I didnt handle that well. Im not cut out to be a leader. People with a growth mindset believe that intelligence, ability, and skill can be developed through effort; that we are what we work to become. Someone with a growth mindset might say, I didnt handle that well, but next time Ill make sure Im more prepared. People who embrace a growth mindset believe success is based on effort and application, not innate talent. Think about a challenge you overcame. A goal you achieved. A time when you doubted yourself, but still persevered. Youve done it once. You can do it again. That, in effect, is a growth mindset. Embrace it. Not only will you be more successful, youll be more likely to live longer, too. Cant beat that. Jeff Haden This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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E-Commerce
Leading in these times isnt easy. Youre expected to be relatable yet reliable, compassionate yet competent, and authentic yet professional. You have to do all of this in an environment where global upheaval, economic uncertainty, and technological changes are creating widespread anxiety. And perhaps you, on occasion, have some stressors in your own work and personal life to navigate? Masking emotions at work is both exhausting and counterproductive. Acting as though everything is fine when its clearly not creates an environment of toxic positivity, erodes trust, and makes it harder for others to be honest. Its also not healthy. As noted in Psychology Today, suppressing our emotions puts us at higher risk of heart disease and hypertension, and causes us to feel less socially connected and satisfied with [our] friends [and] more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Of course, we also dont want to swing too far the other way. Oversharing can leave colleagues uncomfortable, reshape how others judge us, or place emotional burdens on the very people were supposed to support. Its important to find ways to be our authentic selves at work, and to do it in a way that is professional and sustainable. Here are three ideas that can help you strike that balance. 1. Model, Dont Vent One leader found herself facing an all-staff call with thousands of employees the day after their city faced a mass violence event. At first, she tried to grit through it, sticking to her agenda and talking points. Eventually, though, she realized how inauthentic it felt not to acknowledge the horrors they had all witnessed. She paused, took a breath, and allowed a few tears. Then she shared from the heart how difficult it was to see their community under attack, how much the staff meant to her, and how grateful she was for their service. It was a rare moment of rawness for herand it landed. Her inbox was flooded afterward with thank-you notes from staff who appreciated her honesty and humanity. What made this effective? She modeled vulnerability without slipping into venting. She displayed honest emotion, but without asking her staff to manage that emotion for her. Its one thing to say, Its been a tough week, and I may be slower to respond. Its another to launch into the details of your family drama in a team meeting. One builds trust; the other may leave colleagues uncomfortable and can call on your employees to provide emotional support that is not part of their job description but which they may not feel able to decline. 2. Use Shared Language One helpful way to facilitate honesty without oversharing is to develop a team vernacular around well-beinga shared language around that allows individuals to signal what theyre feeling without going into detail that they may not be comfortable sharing. These shorthand tools facilitate conversations on mental health and make it easier for people to be open without requiring them to go into specifics. Ive seen teams use a traffic light analogy, a numeric check-in, or a weather report (its been nothing but storms this week). On one team that was entirely remote, the manager sent everyone a toy cat (an inside joke on the team) that anyone could place so that it was visible on their Zoom screen when they were having a hard day, as a quick, visible indicator that they might need a little extra support that day. One manager was glad that his team had developed this shared understanding on a day when his childs school went on lockdown. He said to his team, Im a 2 today, unfortunately; I may need some help keeping things on track. That allowed him to say what he needed to without having to go into detail while he was still uncertain and anxious. Later, when he learned that everything was okay, he was grateful that he hadnt had to discuss his fears in real time. 3. Find Your People Being authentic doesnt mean being transparent with everyone. In fact, trying to share openly in an unsafe space can backfire. But you do need places where you can process your emotions, including at work. For leaders, that often means cultivating a small circle of trusted peers or mentors who can serve as sounding boards. Look for people who understand your context but arent directly affected by your decisionscolleagues in other departments, peers at your level in different organizations, or professional networks outside your organization. The key is finding those who can hold your confidence, challenge your thinking, and offer empathy without judgment. It may take time to develop those relationships, but its worthwhile to invest in them, and to hold on tight to them once youve got them. Gallup research shows that having a close friend at work boosts engagement, creativity, and performance. Building a trusted circle also protects you from isolation at the top and allows you to show up for your team with steadiness and clarity. Authenticity at work doesnt mean being raw with everyone. It means showing up in ways that build trust, connection, and resilience. Leaders who strike this balance protect their own well-being and create workplaces where others feel safe to do the same. Thats the kind of leadership that helps teams not just endure hard times, but thrive through them.
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E-Commerce
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are famously close, with a friendship that spans five decades. The actors were first seen together in The Godfather Part II, but their friendship has propelled them to do several other films together, including Heat and The Irishman. Today, they appear in a different creative project: a campaign for the luxury outerwear label Moncler. The campaign is premised on expanding the definition of warmth. Moncler, which is known for creating warm jackets, also wants to be known for the warmth of feeling between friends and loved ones. [Photo: Platon for Moncler] In the imagery for the campaign, De Niro and Pacino are captured in black-and-white by Platon, the renowned portrait photographer who goes by one name. In one image, they’re on a rooftop, looking out at the New York skyline. They also appear in a series of short video clipsalso shot in black-and-whitesitting across the table from one another, occasionally touching hands affectionately. In voice-overs, the actors speak with their distinct, gravely voices. Moncler’s moment The campaign is part of Moncler’s broader effort to immerse itself in the creative world. In 2018, it launched the Genius project, in which it partners annually with 10 creatives across various disciplines who come up with interesting ideas for new products and runway shows. Last year, it featured all of these ideas in an immersive experience called the “City of Genius,” which took place in Shanghai and was attended by 8,000 people. The actor and singer Donald Glover designed an architectural farmhouse inspired by his farm in Ojai, California, along with a collection of clothes perfect for farming. Edward Enninful, the founder of EE72 magazine and the former editor of British Vogue, designed a multisensory performance art piece that showed a weather station being overrun by a sandstorm, a snowstorm, and a windstorm. It was meant to reflect a future of extreme weather and the clothes that we might wear to survive the elements. Moncler also partnered with Jony Ive, the iPhone designer, to design a five-piece outerwear collection that offered a futuristic take on a field jacket, parka, and poncho. Ive’s team also designed an entirely new button made from a clasp with magnets to make it easier to secure and separate layers. Now, Moncler is turning to these beloved actors, now in their 80s, to tell a story about their friendship and creative partnership over the decades. The photography captures their longevity, documenting wrinkles and age spots, while also offering a rare glimpse into their intimacy. It’s a touching portrayal of a softer side of masculinity that contrasts the macho roles the two actors have often portrayed across their careers.
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E-Commerce
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