I first heard the following from John Tesh’s radio show, Intelligence for Your Life, and then went to www.tesh.com for the text:
Middle-age can make you miserable! If you’re down in the dumps, don’t blame your job, your spouse or your kids. According to USA Today, a new study finds that middle-age slump peaks around age 44 for both men and women. Researchers from the United States and Great Britain identified the same slump in nearly all of the 80 countries they studied, from Albania to Zimbabwe. They analyzed the anxiety levels, mental health and well-being of 2 million people around the world and a universal pattern emerged. For most folks, life begins cheerful, turns
difficult in middle-age, and then returns to the joy of youth in the golden years.
The researchers say that if you are in your 40’s and finding life tough, take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. It happens to men and women, single and married people, rich and poor, and people with and without children. While they don’t have concrete answers for why people aren’t happy in their 40’s, the experts do have some ideas. Andrew Oswald is the co-author of the study, and he says in our 40’s, we learned to put the brakes on our “unattainable” goals. We have to lower our expectations and face reality, and figure out what we can actually hope to achieve. In other words – we wake up to the fact that we won’t realize all of our dreams.
For most, the downturn doesn’t come on all at once, it happens gradually. In their 50’s, people come out of this low period. They begin to value the years they’ve got left, and they embrace life more. Here’s more good news: once you hit age 70, if you’re still physically fit, you’re likely to be as happy and mentally healthy as a 20 year old! Now that’s something to look forward to.
Interesting article. Here’s the take-away for me however…
Whether you’re in your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s or beyond – giving up on your dreams will make you old. The world tells you, and wants you to believe that you cannot, that you shouldn’t, that you ought not to. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Distance yourself from dream stealers. Age is irrelevant to contribution. As long as you have the passion and an attitude that takes action toward your dreams, anything is possible. The age-old aphorism states that if you don’t try you’ve already failed. Keep the faith. It ‘aint over until you decide it is.
Tom Leu 