It dawned on me the other day that when I do a post that includes a link to an article I’ve recently had published, some readers may think it screams ‘Yay me! Look at what I’ve done.’
That’s certainly not the intention, and I apologize if it appears that way.
The thing is, I like to share. It’s really more of a case of ‘hey, have you been reading about this particular piece of news, this new unusual finding or aspect of an issue I found rather interesting…’
The truth is, I write for a variety of publications and I do my best to come up with interesting topics that will be appreciated by their respective readerships.
There are many times when I also feel the article would be of interest to the great folks who faithfully follow here, stop by to visit (and hopefully decide to stay), or somehow happen to find themselves at this site and decide to poke around.
That’s certainly the case with the article I’d like to share with you today. I read (what I found to be) a fascinating article in The Economist awhile back entitled ‘The U-Bend of Life’, and hoped you’d find it every bit as absorbing as I did.
The article builds on developments in positive psychology (previously referred to as the study of optimism) and recent trends of governments and researchers to attempt to quantify ‘happiness’ or wellbeing.
In short, it chronicles how, despite being from different countries/cultures, people the world over tend to go through the same U-shaped trajectory in terms of self-reported levels of happiness (or at least contentedness), relative to their age.
Bottomline? Regardless of where we live, we tend to start out claiming relatively high levels of happiness which lessen as we age; by our late 40s/early 50s (depending on the particular country) we usually hit our lowest point of reported wellbeing, and then slowly work our way back up the happiness scale.
Even if one country’s population reports its overall level of happiness to be higher relative to another country, the U-shape remains the same. We’re happiest at the beginning and ending of our lives, and unhappiest (or least happy) during middle age.
Okay, so people tend to report going through similar levels of happiness at the same stages in life. Big deal.
Well, actually it is a big deal. Not only were the findings consistent across countries, but the researcher went to great lengths to review the impact of all sorts of variables including age, gender, marital status, education level, whether respondents were extroverts or more introverted, had children or were childless or were experiencing the challenges of being the sandwich generation, and so on.
I really enjoyed researching and writing The Global U-Bend of Happiness for Expat Focus, and I hope you’ll find it as fascinating as I did. And be sure to read the original Economist article as it’s chockful of all sorts of riveting information.
According to the research, I guess I’m supposed to be near my unhappiest level fairly soon. Who knew?
(Those of you who think I’m already there, shush.)
All I can say is that if I’m approaching what will essentially the nadir of happiness, I hadn’t really noticed.
That said, I’ll take a steadily climbing happiness level anyday.
Yes,I think when one is in the House of Wisdom which is middle-age, the tendency to fall back on ‘regrets’ or going on ‘museum tours’ of your life intensify…but staying optimistic and changing perceptions and patterns help keep us on the up and up. By the time we reach our ‘last Battle Dance’, hopefully we will have achieved what our soul intended..’
I love the concept of our ‘last Battle Dance’ Niamh, thank you! There are so many pressures on us during middle age, not the least of which are worrying about our elderly parents/relatives, dealing with our children and hoping they find their way in life, coming to terms with aging and as you mention, any regrets we might have.
This reminds me of the miniseries “La Meglio Gioventu” where the lives of two brothers and their family is followed from when they leave university until their own children marry. The third episode, middle age, was by far hardest to watch: death, illness and the realisation that yes, this is really it when it comes to life. No more glittering future. So to me, the U-bend sounds very likely, as well as the fact that it’s global: after all, aren’t death, illness and the slow disappearance of future prospects global too?
However, the fourth episode was the best, which is confirmed when I look at my parents’ and their friends life: they have truly come into their own. So I reckon the good times are still ahead – we just have to grow into them.
Couldn’t have expressed it better than that, Katrijn. We deal with the tough stuff, come through wiser and humbler, and (hopefully) grow into the good times yet to come. Thank you!
I think I am steadily climbing back up again, at the age of 61! Of course, this all depends on what one’s definition of “happiness” is!
Perhaps as we age, we adjust our definition of happiness to be more realisitic. Research shows we focus much more on relationships as we get older, understanding that they are so important. Consider yourself upward bound, Emma!
Hi LAJ,
This is fascinating. I had no idea that all people go through this the world over at around the same ages. Very useful to know that what I’m going through is not going to be endless!
Thank you.
Angela
I do think we hit a challenging patch when sandwiched between the demands of our parents’ generation and our children’s. We also get clearer in what is important to us. Thanks Angela, love your site Powered by Intuition
I’m really enjoying middle age right now – I hope this doesn’t mean that things are about to go downhill! Of course, I lost my father when I was only 32, so maybe having suffered that sort of loss at a younger age has altered my viewpoint. I’m very aware of just how fleeting everything is and determined to appreciate all of it!
Welkom Caroline, thanks for stopping by. I think you’re absolutely correct. When you suffer the loss of a parent early on (or other difficult/traumatic events), it shakes you up and you realize nothing’s promised. Love you blog, am adding it to my list. I’ll be in touch.