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I heard a intresting report to day that according to some survey or something that old people are happier than young people.
The hosts of the radio show I heard it on debated this back and forth. First was it true?
I am not sure. I mean I have met some miserable old people in my day and met some that are happier than anyone I have ever met in my life. If you look at my own family, I think my parents are happier than their older kids but not their younger ones. So maybe it is a curve? I mean they have kids in three decades of life and I hazard to say the ones in their 40's are less happy as a group then the one in her 20's.
Yet in their 60's my parents are happy as I ever have seen them.
Then they talked about why?
Maybe it is that the burdens are gone that plague younger life.
You have kids out of the house and now they are on their own, so no more worries about college or that stuff. And also they get to watch kids and grandkids thrive. Not all kids do, and some bring heart ache, but again...maybe most don't.
You also have or have not made it in life so you either accept it, like maybe many do and that is where this stat is from, or don't.
I mean are you really going to see a 65 year old man worrying about climbing the ladder? He has made the top rung or so he will ever make, so he either sees that and it makes him happy or it makes him sad. Maybe for many it makes them happy.
Also you are not worrying about getting old, you are old. As much as I fight the whole mid-life crisis stuff and as much as I know that 45 is not too old to begin again, I know that the time to break this all down and begin again is slowly going away.
"No one wants to be the old man at the club" in the words of Chris Rock.
Maybe also they just have seen that the day to day stuff that the younger end worries about is not worth it.
I am just hoping that if it is true, that I get to be in that happy majority.
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Posted by whiteknight on 2008-05-13 15:30:36 | Rating: | Views: 92
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I agree with this statistic..but I got my own reasons..
Older people have lived through the roughest of times and have learned to accept that life is just a series of events to be handled one at a time..Its not which events, but how you handle them..they have accepted this. Younger people fight against the events occuring in the first place, only accepting them when all other avenues have been exhausted. This causes a lot of frustration and fear in the younger set.
Older people are just happy to be able to get out of the bed and walk to their chair, and perhaps get their own food. Younger people want to look younger, feel younger, and stay youthful as long as we can. Any little obstacle to that goal seems just overwhelming.
Older people don't worry about what other people think about them. They are just glad to outlive most of their enemies. Younger people spend a great deal of time keeping up with the Jones's and trying to look younger than the neighbor, trying to impress friends and worrying about what people think of them.
Yes, whiteknight we will be happy in our old age..but right now we gots to keep our groove on..gotta keep up with everyone else, lest we fall behind and get laughed at..ha
peace :) shemelts
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Posted by shemelts
on 2008-05-13 16:36:43
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I also think that being happy in old age depends heavily (though not totally) on choices made earlier on in life, but not always. And I dont think its possible to 'miss the boat' in life either - its never to late to start being happy when you're not etc...
Great post and I agree with what you and shemelts said, very true x
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Posted by chebtastic1
on 2008-05-13 18:20:37
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First,60 is NOT old. Second, when you do reach your 60's, you have reached your work potential, I still ran a construction company full time at 60. You do get more respect, which makes me happy.Your marriage works better,the arguments are mostly gone. You know what pleases the other. No hysterics. You don't care what others think of your ride, the way you dress, or much of anthing personal. Age has it's perks, one is the maturity to not give a flying---- about what anyone thinks.Very invigorating, I recommend it. Extra perk, the cars you drove in your 20's are 'classics'.
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Posted by stillkickin
on 2008-05-14 19:35:33
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Did not mean 60 was old, what I meant was that at 60 you do not let the climb obsess you. My dad is well over 60 and still runs his company almost f/t, and would if my brother was not as good as he is at running it when he is gone.
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Posted by whiteknight
on 2008-05-14 20:19:49
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