The Happiness U-Curve

Learning how to age well is skill that should be embraced

Have you heard of the Happiness U-Curve?

It’s a profound and substantiated reality that happiness tends to peak in our youth and then peak again as we age.

The U-Curve Happiness scale tends to bottom out in our 40s and early 50s but rises again as we age. That’s not a misprint. Your 40s and early 50s can be some of your emotionally toughest years and your later 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s some of your emotionally happiest.

In other words, do not believe the myth that life peaks in our young adult years and then steadily tapers off over time. It’s called the “myth of declinism” and it is just not true over the wide range of the population.

Many researchers say we do not even reach our emotional peak until our seventh decade. You’ve seen this reality played out countless times and so have I.

The toughest times emotionally can be in our 40s when social stresses, family transitions, and chronic comparing can wear and tear on your emotional life. So, if you are in your 40s, look up and know that your inner person has much to anticipate down the line. Life when you are 45 is not “as good as it gets.” Learning how to age well is a skill that needs to be embraced as early as possible so that you will understand natural transitions that God has hard-wired into our lives. Granted, there are exceptions to these principles (debilitating health issues being a major exception) and this research tells us about the human condition apart from the influence of the Holy Spirit. But then again, much of this research takes into account the spiritual lives of those who are aging.

The Bible is clear and authoritative. Social research is clear and supportive. Though we may physically get slower and creakier, our inner person can become richer, wiser, more nuanced and more insightful.