I was struck by a series of news stories on a recent study reporting that men are most happy up until age 70 and then begin a general decline.
That is not good news for someone who just turned 54. Or it’s good news for the next 16 years, then bad news thereafter.
I can understand the underling message. “Hassles” build up. Health issues can be overwhelming. Issues with work (or lack of meaningful work) and finances can be very serious.
And there’s that whole mortality thing.
I am not going to be the first to tell you that 70 is not “old” anymore. Men and women can be health, active, and HAPPY well beyond their 70s. But it doesn’t happen automatically. It doesn’t happen easily.
How can you be happy? By being a active participant in your own life. You have to plan on DOING things. And you have to strengthen the bonds you have with friends, family, and colleagues. My Grandparents were active people. Those that lived into their 80′s remained strong, active, engaged people. They’ve set a great example for me.
It’s not something new you start at 70. It’s something to do now.
Do you want to be happy later in life? Commit your life to doing things that will take you a lifetime. Don’t stop doing them when you get older.
Here, at 54, I’m making big plans. Plans that may take decades. Maybe more. Who has time to be unhappy?
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Randy MurrayPlanning Beyond 70: More Than Happiness by Randy Murray, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
