By Tadas Viskanta
Abnormal Returns
December 19, 2017

Disappointed and pessimistic: planning for life’s happiness trough

Getting old sucks.
That is, up until a point.

There is a lot of research that backs up this idea of happiness declining for the better part of four decades until we are solidly in our fifties. There are a number of reasons why our happiness, on average, traces out this U-shape. Financial Samurai proposes three reasons:

1. Hedonic adaption;
2. Responsibility for two generations; and
3. Declining health.

There is some evidence from primates that this dip in life satisfaction may be inherent, i.e. not a human construct. More...