Previous posts have highlighted happiness, the velocity of life, ethics and environmental factors as important characteristics of healthy destinations. Now a new analysis of Gallup poll data by researchers at Cambridge University isolates another key to health and happiness: tolerance. Working with data from 380,000 Americans polled in 2008, the Cambridge team found that “inclusiveness”—tolerance of bohemian and alternative lifestyles—raised the happiness index significantly in many states, including three that made the top ten: California, Minnesota and Massachusetts. It seems freedom of expression and lower pressure to conform give people the chance to pursue and perhaps fulfill their own definition of happiness. Health and well-being seem to walk hand-in-hand with a tolerant approach to life. Do you agree?
