Chapter 10 discussed the role that success plays in longevity. The researchers discovered that health threats could be predicted by career accomplishments as well as lack of accomplishments. They concluded that those with the most successful careers were the least likely to die young. This makes sense to me but what if your job is extremely stressful? I feel like if your job is high stress and you don’t cope well with this stress, that you would probably not live as long. I was not surprised that those who coped with stress well remained healthy despite having demanding careers. I predicted that conscientiousness was one of the reasons why the successful participants were successful. This prediction was correct. In addition, ambition, perseverance, impulse control and high motivation also played a role in a successful work life. The chapter concluded by saying that those who retired but remained active in their community lived longer. This finding also makes sense and did not surprise me. After reading the chapter, I am interested in learning about CEO’s longevity. They have very high stress jobs but they have had very successful careers. How do CEO’s handle stress? Do CEO’s live longer than most?
Chapter 11 discussed the role religion places in longevity. I was surprised that religion itself doesn’t really play a role in how long you live. As someone who was raised with no religion, I have always felt that religious people are “better” because they believe in something greater than themselves. But at the same time it makes sense that having a religion doesn’t mean you will live longer. How can believing in something lead someone to living a longer life? People who are religious are also social and involved in the community. These are factors that lead to long life. I would like to know if people of a certain religion are more social or conscientious than people of another religion.
You make a good point about CEO’s and their level of stress due to potentially facing a higher amount of stressors. I feel like they can go both ways. If they have great faith in their company to succeed and have a great team to lead with, they may face less stress than those whose companies are facing low sales/profits. On the other hand, CEOs may face more stress if they frame their work as being really important to the company’s employee livelihoods. Another thing to think about is that they probably have a higher access to services to help with them cope. For example, they may have better access to maintain or improve mental/physical health.
In addition, with the religion chapter, I think it is really important to note that the authors were viewing religion for people to gather and create a support system for each other since they believe in the same entity. For me, I am not very religious but recognize that as long as an individual finds a social support system, it can act as a buffer against stress. Religion is just one way of being able to find that support.