Did you know the longest-running happiness study in history (Harvard) found that the number one predictor of a long, healthy, joyful life wasn't money or success, it was the quality of your relationships?

So why does connection feel like the first thing we sacrifice when life gets full?

In this episode of the Joy First Audit series, I'm sharing my score for Category 3: Connection... and even though I came in at 14/15, there's a lot more going on beneath the surface.

We go into:

• The difference between not being alone and actually feeling seen

• What's happening in marriages and intimate relationships as we enter our forties (and why so many women are quietly renegotiating everything)

• Real vs superficial friendships: and how I've been looking locally to find something that feels nourishing

• The people-pleasing and guilt thread that runs through almost every connection question in the audit

• Why self-connection is the bank account that funds all the rest

This one gets honest about perimenopause, neurodivergence, the IDGAF era, and what it actually takes to feel genuinely connected when your nervous system is running on empty.

If you want to take the Joy First Audit for yourself, you can find it on our Substack @joyfirstworld.

Free members get the analog version. Paid members get access to a custom AI co-pilot that walks you through the audit and helps you take your next steps.

Next week: The Joy Audit

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