So many of us expect to become less happy as we age, BUT science says you couldn’t be more wrong - you’ll likely become happier as you get into old age, you’ll be more content and more able to live in the present moment.
This phenomenon is called the happiness curve and it’s a concept that award winning journalist Jonathon Rauch is incredibly passionate about.
Jonathan is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and the author of The Happiness Curve, Why Life Gets Better After 50.
So what does the research say, how can we avoid the midlife crisis we hear so much about & how might the happiness curve help us to reframe the way we approach aging?
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BOOKS
The Happiness Curve, Why Life Gets Better After 50
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:16 - How did Jonathon discover the happiness curve?
00:04:45 - How does the happiness curve play out in different countries?
00:07:24 - The forecasting error
00:13:13 - Why so many of us feel ashamed of the midlife slump
00:17:37 - Step don’t leap
00:23:35 - How to overcome the time trap of the happiness curve
00:26:26 - The happiness curve is fuelled by false assumptions around age
00:31:21 - It isn’t just teenagers who go through transitional times of life
00:33:31 - The power in giving yourself time to reset
00:35:51 - The things that truly bring life satisfaction
00:38:12 - The one thing to remember