Course Registration FAQs

The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the longest study of human life ever conducted. It is a one-of-a-kind resource for scientific knowledge on what promotes human thriving. The Study findings have made major contributions to the understanding of human life. There have been nine books and more than 200 scientific papers written on the Study data, informing how we think about fundamental problems such as alcoholism, depression, stress, and marital difficulties.

At the Lifespan Research Foundation, research is literally our middle name.

Everything we do builds on research findings, including our flagship offering, the Road Maps Program, which is designed to help you live a happier and more fulfilling life. As part of our introductory offer, we are asking program participants to help us by answering confidential survey questions to learn more about how the Road Maps program affects people’s well-being. We ask program participants to complete a short (20-minute) survey before they begin the sessions and after they’ve completed them. Read more information about the Road Maps Efficacy Research Project.

If you agree to participate in the research, you will either begin sessions shortly after you enroll or be randomly selected to start sessions six weeks later.

The Road Maps program is the brainchild of Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz, who together lead the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest longitudinal study of adult well-being ever conducted.

One thing that the Harvard Study directors realized is that every single person goes through transitions – even if they’re not aware of them. And they often need support during these times. Example transitions include divorce, retirement, having children, getting a first job, graduating from college, overcoming addictive habits, and so on. These are times of great change and reflection. They are times – if done correctly – when your values can serve as guideposts and your relationships can be stepping stones of support to help you get where you want to go.

That’s totally fine! Many people who experience the program are not currently in a transition. Some people are just coming out of the pandemic and reflecting on their lives and wondering “Why am I here? What am I called to do?” The fact is, though, that you have experienced transitions, and you will again in the future. One of the main benefits of this program is to help you reflect on major life changes in your past, and how you can apply what you’ve learned to navigate (or even precipitate and accelerate) big transitions in your future.

In addition to transitions, the program helps you answer questions like:

• Where am I in my life, and how does that shape my view of what’s important?
• What do I value the most in life, and am I devoting my time and energy to what I care about most?
• Who is most important in my life, and how can I take care of those relationships?
• Life keeps bringing new challenges. How can I get better at coping with them?

The 90-minute sessions are delivered virtually through Zoom.

Lifespan has several expert facilitators, such as Dr. Don Azevedo, who are skilled in both our content and delivering virtual instructor-led training.

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Each of the five, 90-minute modules has a similar structure. We begin by “tuning in,” or getting centered with ourselves with a mindfulness exercise. Then we dive into the topic, with a video presentation by Dr. Robert Waldinger, Director of the Harvard Study. These videos bring each topic to life with data and stories from the research. You’ll reflect on how these research lessons apply to your life, relationships, and so forth. You’ll then share these reflections with one or two other people in small breakout rooms, where you can make connections and more breakthrough-type thinking. Coming back to the large group, we’ll discuss our realizations and do more self-guided exercises designed to help you pause, reflect, and come to deep realizations about your life and whether you are living it in the most fulfilling way to you. Each module comes to a close with another mindfulness exercise and a “homework” exercise to help you identify a behavior change to make your chosen change stick.

It is not uncommon for our program participants to form friendships with the folks in their program cohort and stay in touch to support each other in their lives!

Benefits of participating include:

• Reconnecting with yourself and your most important relationships
• Finding meaning in life
• Confidence in identifying a “way forward” in your life, and overcoming challenges
• Profound insights in how you’re spending your time and energy
• Increased closeness and trust level in teams who have participated together and spoken about real issues in their lives
• For teams participating together, many report an increased closeness and increase in trust level as people speak about real issues in their lives.

While the program is grounded in data and does feature models, each module is quite practical in how it helps you apply these lessons to your life.

The program price is $1500, but is currently being offered at an introductory rate of $500.

We currently accept most major credit cards and PayPal. You can pay on our event registration page.

Yes! The $500 is an introductory rate that will only be offered for a limited time.

Contact us at info@lifespanresearch.org

Lifespan Research Foundation will grant a full refund for cancellations received at least 30 days before the program start date. A 50% refund will be given for cancellations made 29 – 15 days prior to the program start date. Refunds will not be granted for cancellations received within 14 days of the program start date; however, participants who cancel during that period may elect to transfer their registration fee to another program date if space is available. Please direct questions by emailing info@lifespanresearch.org.