By John Sanders, LUKE CEO

Pastor Greg Surratt has spent decades helping leaders and communities grow in faith, resilience, and purpose. His influence now extends into an area closely aligned with the work we are doing at LUKE. Pastor Greg serves on the HERO Council, an AACC initiative to bring together multi-disciplinary leaders committed to helping America’s heroes (warfighters, veterans, first responders, and their families) flourish by supporting the whole person — mind, body, and spirt.

That perspective is one reason Pastor Greg’s recent Worry-Free Wednesday series on human flourishing resonates so strongly with the work we are doing. In the series, he reflects on findings from Harvard’s Global Human Flourishing Study, one of the largest well-being studies ever conducted, involving more than 200,000 people across 22 countries. Researchers set out to answer a straightforward question: what helps people live a good life? The research confirms what thoughtful observers have long understood about the ingredients of a meaningful life. Although money, comfort, and professional success contribute to stability, the research shows that flourishing grows most strongly when several dimensions of life come together. These include emotional well-being, physical and mental health, meaning and purpose, character, close relationships, and financial stability.

An important insight from the study is that these areas reinforce one another. When relationships improve, emotional health improves. When people live with a sense of purpose, resilience increases. When character is strong, stress often declines. Life functions less like a set of separate compartments and more like an interconnected system in which each dimension strengthens the others. Pastor Greg highlights another insight that is easy to overlook. Flourishing rarely begins with dramatic change. It grows through small choices made consistently over time.

Gratitude offers one of the clearest examples. Across cultures and age groups, researchers found that gratitude is one of the strongest predictors of happiness and lower stress. Although gratitude does not remove difficult circumstances, it changes how those circumstances are experienced. When people practice gratitude, their attention shifts, and instead of constantly focusing on what is missing or uncertain, they notice what is already present and meaningful.

Healthy rhythms also play an essential role in flourishing. The global flourishing research shows that people who maintain consistent rhythms of rest, reflection, and connection experience stronger mental and emotional health. These rhythms are not complicated. Sleep, time outdoors, quiet reflection, and meaningful conversation all contribute to restoring balance in a world that constantly demands attention and energy.

Purpose represents another powerful driver of human flourishing. In the global research, people with a clear sense of purpose scored 40 to 60 percent higher in overall flourishing. Purpose gives direction and meaning, and when individuals understand why their work matters, resilience tends to increase when stress occurs. Pastor Greg emphasizes that purpose often becomes clearer through action, revealing itself one decision at a time.

Character, particularly the ability to forgive, also plays a significant role. Studies consistently show that forgiveness is associated with lower stress levels, stronger emotional health, and healthier relationships. Holding on to resentment keeps the mind and body in a state of tension that quietly drains emotional energy over time. Although forgiveness does not change the past, it does free a person from continuing to carry the weight of it.

The research also returns to a conclusion that has appeared repeatedly across decades of study. Strong relationships are the single most important predictor of a good life. People with supportive relationships experience greater life satisfaction, manage stress more effectively, and often live longer, while loneliness increases anxiety and intensifies worry.

Taken together, these insights point to a pattern confirmed by both research and human experience. Flourishing grows through small, consistent choices that strengthen the foundations of life. Pastor Greg’s practical takeaways from this are refreshingly simple:

• Write down one thing you are grateful for today and express thanks to someone who has made a difference in your life.
• Choose one healthy rhythm that gives your mind and body room to recover, whether that means a short walk, quiet reflection, or simply getting better rest.
• Identify the next meaningful step in front of you and take it with purpose.
• Release one small resentment that has been weighing on your heart.
• Reach out to one person and strengthen a relationship that matters.

None of these steps are complicated, and each one reflects a small decision that strengthens the roots of a flourishing life.

For those who serve our nation in uniform or in public safety, these dimensions of life carry particular importance. Military members, veterans, first responders, and their families often carry burdens that most people never see, and supporting their well-being requires attention to clinical care along with the broader factors that shape resilience, hope, and human flourishing. What I love about Pastor Greg’s series is that it reminds us that flourishing grows through everyday choices that strengthen the human spirit and deepen the relationships that sustain us. When those foundations are healthy, the fruit that follows often reaches far beyond our own lives.