You Need More Than Small Talk

When the two of you talk, what do you talk about? Are your conversations always about your kids, the house, or your jobs? From a practical perspective, you do need to talk about your kids and day-to-day issues and to have "Happy Talk", but you need more in your discussions with each other.

Roni Caryn Rabin of the New York Times reports that a small study from the University of Arizona discovered that substantive conversations about the meaning of life and the state of the world could make you happier.

Dr. Matthias Mehl: "By engaging in meaningful conversations, we manage to impose meaning on an otherwise pretty chaotic world," Dr. Mehl said. "And interpersonally, as you find this meaning, you bond with your interactive partner, and we know that interpersonal connection and integration is a core fundamental foundation of happiness ... Can we make people happier by asking them, for the next five days, to have one extra substantive conversation every day?"
Source: Roni Caryn Rabin. "Talk Deeply, Be Happy?" NYTimes.com. 3/17/2010.

You Need More Than Small Talk originally appeared on About.com Marriage on Thursday, March 18th, 2010 at 01:08:28.

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