The
Science
Behind
The Reset
Is…
The Power of Community
For nearly nine decades, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has followed people across their lives in an effort to understand a remarkably important question:
What helps us live healthier, happier, more fulfilling lives?
One lesson has become remarkably clear:
The quality of our relationships matters.
Strong relationships and social connection have been associated with greater happiness, better health, and healthier aging.
That idea sits at the heart of The Reset.
Because many of us aren't completely alone.
We're surrounded by people.
Coworkers. Neighbors. Followers. Group chats. Familiar faces.
But having people around us isn't always the same as having people who truly know us.
The Reset creates more opportunities for those relationships to grow.
Relationships Need Somewhere to Happen
Friendship rarely appears fully formed.
It starts with seeing someone again.
Then another conversation.
Then coffee.
Dinner after Circle.
A walk.
A ridiculous group text.
Showing up when someone needs you.
Celebrating when something great happens.
Week after week, strangers can become familiar faces.
Familiar faces can become friendships.
And friendships can become community.
Not because connection is forced.
Because people keep showing up.
Your Relationships Are Part of Your Well-Being
Researchers from the Harvard Study found that satisfaction with relationships in midlife was an important predictor of health later in life.
We spend enormous amounts of time thinking about our physical well-being.
Blood pressure.
Cholesterol.
Exercise.
Nutrition.
Sleep.
Maybe we should also ask:
How healthy are my relationships?
Who really knows me?
Who can I call?
Who would notice if I disappeared for a while?
Who do I laugh with?
Who do I celebrate with?
Who makes an ordinary Tuesday better simply because they're there?
Those relationships deserve attention too.
Connection Doesn't Have to Be Serious
Building meaningful relationships doesn't mean every conversation needs to be deep.
Sometimes connection happens sitting in Circle talking about something that matters.
Sometimes it happens over tacos.
Or coffee.
At a happy hour.
Walking the beach.
Volunteering together.
Trying something completely new.
Or laughing so hard nobody remembers what started it.
Fun builds relationships too.
The Reset creates reasons for people to keep crossing paths until connection has a chance to become something real.
Community Extends Beyond Us
Strong communities aren't only built between friends.
They're built between neighbors.
Local businesses.
Community organizations.
The people who make our cities feel like home.
That's why The Reset encourages members to get out into their communities, support local businesses, volunteer, participate, and get to know the people around them.
Community gets stronger when we show up for one another.
The Idea Is Simple
The Reset didn't discover the importance of relationships.
Human beings have known that we need one another for a very long time.
Research increasingly helps us understand just how important those relationships can be to our well-being.
The Reset simply creates more places for them to begin.
A Circle to return to.
People to get to know.
Reasons to spend time together.
A community to belong to.
Because a better life isn't only about becoming a better version of yourself.
It's also about having people to share it with.
“Good relationships keep us happier and healthier.”
Robert Waldinger, MD
Director, Harvard Study of Adult Development
The Science Of Connection
-
For nearly 90 years, researchers at Harvard followed hundreds of people to answer one question:
What actually leads to a long, healthy, fulfilling life?
The answer surprised them.
It wasn't wealth.
It wasn't fame.
It wasn't intelligence.
It wasn't genetics.
It was the quality of people's relationships.
People with strong, supportive relationships lived longer, experienced better physical health, enjoyed greater happiness, and maintained better cognitive function as they aged.
-
One conclusion from the study is impossible to ignore:
"Loneliness kills. It's as powerful as smoking or alcoholism."
Millions of people today aren't surrounded by enemies.
They're surrounded by acquaintances.
They have followers.
Coworkers.
Neighbors.
But very few people they can truly be themselves with.
The Reset exists to change that.
-
Research suggests relationships protect us over time—not through one-time conversations, but through ongoing connection.
That's why every Reset Circle happens every week.
Consistency creates familiarity.
Familiarity creates trust.
Trust creates vulnerability.
Vulnerability creates belonging.
Belonging changes lives.
-
Researchers found that relationship satisfaction in midlife predicted later health better than cholesterol levels.
Think about that.
Most people monitor:
Blood pressure
Cholesterol
Weight
Exercise
Few people ask:
How healthy are my relationships?
At The Reset...
We do.
-
The Harvard researchers concluded that close relationships protect both the body and the brain.
The Reset was built around that same principle.
Not because we've discovered something new.
Because we've created a place where people can actually practice it.
“The people who were happiest, who stayed healthiest as they grew old, and who lived the longest were the people who had the warmest connections with other people.”
Robert Waldinger, MD