Reaching Age 50 May Make You Happier Than Ever Before

From She Knows.

Are you over the age of 50, yet feel happier than at any other period of your life? According to this story from The Times of India, you're not alone. These results come from an Engage Mutual survey of 1,500 people aged 50 or older. Forty percent of the respondents said they are happier than ever before, and 66% said they are more confident.

So why might middle-aged and older people be happier? Respondents theorized that it may be because they have paid off their mortgages, achieved some success in their careers, and felt the satisfaction of watching their children grow up and settle into adult life.

"It is heartening that so many are finding that being in your fifties can be the most rewarding time of your life," a spokesman for Engage Mutual says. "With increased life expectancy, being 50 is considered to be relatively young these days."

So what do YOU think about all of this? I find the results encouraging because they give me something to look forward to. However, according to some researchers (most notably Daniel Gilbert), people are utterly terrible at remembering past emotional states, which means these survey results may be invalid. A more accurate method that doesn't rely on memory would be to do a multi-decade study, surveying people's present emotional state over the course of many years.

This study from October, which basically came to the same conclusions with better methods, is more what I'm talking about. But the more approaches the better, I guess!