Dec 20, 2010
The life cycle of happiness
Money, among many other things, makes you happier. But one relationship that is even stronger than the one linking money to happiness is the one linking age to happiness. And it is not linear, nor log-linear. It's U-shaped, bending at 46 years old. This relationship exists in all countries around the world, from Zimbabwe to Japan, and was true 40 years ago as well as today. So you get more and more depressed until your middle-age crisis when suddendly life starts getting better. How can this be? The Economist suggests this might be because older people have fewer rows and come up with better solutions to conflict. They are better at controlling their emotions, better at accepting misfortune and less prone to anger. One thing to look forward to! But gotta get to 46 first!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
not mi case at all. Looks like a typical case for the US and I know some similar cases, but generalize this is not sense to me.
From Maribou:
It makes sense to me...you start working at around 21 after having had your parents pamper you for most of your adolescent years…you have to fend for yourself so your happiness goes down...then you discover the magic of your own money and start spending it and generally being happier...then after the brief joy of the first few years of marriage, you start having kids, providing for them etc…you also start hating your job...you bottom out when the kids are 18 years old...then they leave and you can finally be happy again, enjoy the grandchildren, play golf, retire!
Post a Comment