Why Thinking like an Old Person Will Make You Happier
When we think about “going downhill” as we age, it’s usually in a negative light. Naturally, we tend to associate old age with a decline in physical health and cognitive ability.
However, researchers recently discovered a positive spin to aging: The older we get, the happier we are.
Director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, Laura Carstensen, calls this phenomenon the “paradox of aging.” She suggests that our happiness increases because of a shifting perception.
“When people face endings, they tend to shift from goals about exploration and expanding horizons to ones about savoring relationships and focusing on meaningful activities,” she tells the Los Angeles Times. “When you focus on emotionally meaningful goals, life gets better, you feel better and the negative emotions become less frequent and more fleeting when they occur.”
So goal-setting is much different from the young to the old. And that’s OK, Carstensen argues. While young people are more focused on paying dues, those efforts can actually pay off later on in life.
Learn their secrets to happiness and how to live life to the fullest.
