{"id":357682,"date":"2021-10-25T18:32:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T15:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/brett-arendss-roi-the-shocking-good-news-about-getting-older\/"},"modified":"2021-10-25T18:32:00","modified_gmt":"2021-10-25T15:32:00","slug":"brett-arendss-roi-the-shocking-good-news-about-getting-older","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/brett-arendss-roi-the-shocking-good-news-about-getting-older\/","title":{"rendered":"#Brett Arends&#039;s ROI: The shocking good news about getting older"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3df92ccabf7\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3df92ccabf7\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/brett-arendss-roi-the-shocking-good-news-about-getting-older\/#The_midlife_slump_is_real_%E2%80%94_but_it_gets_better\" >The midlife slump is real \u2014 but it gets better<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/brett-arendss-roi-the-shocking-good-news-about-getting-older\/#Brett_Arends\" >Brett Arends<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#Brett Arends&#039;s ROI: The shocking good <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> about getting older<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"article__subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_midlife_slump_is_real_%E2%80%94_but_it_gets_better\"><\/span>\n  The midlife slump is real \u2014 but it gets better<br \/>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"column column--full article__content\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"article body\">\n<div class=\"article__side\">\n<div class=\"container--sticky not-active\">\n<div id=\"cx-next\" data-nosnippet>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"js-article__body\" class=\"article__body article-wrap at16-col16 barrons-article-wrap\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000456964\" role=\"document\">\n<div class=\"barrons-article-ad-wrapper\">\n<div data-track=\"barrons-article-ad-wrap\" class=\"barrons-article-ad sticky_item\">\n<div class=\"barrons-main-article-ad-target sticky_target body_ad\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-layout=\"\n                inline\" data-layout-mobile=\"\" class=\"\n          media-object\n          type-InsetArticleReader\n              \n              inline\n  article__inset\n          article__inset--type-InsetArticleReader\n              article__inset--inline\n  \"><\/p>\n<div class=\"media-object-article-reader\">\n<div class=\"audioplayer\" data-sbid=\"WP-MKTW-0000456964\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Listen to Article\" tabindex=\"-1\" id=\"articlereader\" data-show-title=\"false\" data-theme=\"wsj-article-reader\" data-show-header=\"false\" data-show-subscribe=\"false\" data-ads-enabled=\"true\" data-save-publication=\"false\">\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>       If you\u2019re aged between 35 and 65, like me, here\u2019s some good news (for a change).<\/p>\n<p> Things are going to get better. Or, more accurately, things are going to <em>feel<\/em> better.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s official.<\/p>\n<div class=\"paywall\">\n       The most comprehensive study ever done has shown, pretty much beyond any room for doubt, that things will get better for us as we get older. Actually, because we are getting older.<\/p>\n<p>The so-called midlife mood slump is real. We are, on the whole, h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ier when we\u2019re young and when we\u2019re old. It\u2019s the part in the middle that sucks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe find remarkably strong and consistent evidence across countries of statistically significant and non-trivial U-shapes in age\u2026 in well-being,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ideas.repec.org\/p\/zbw\/glodps\/923.html\" class=\"icon none\">report David Blanchflower, professor of economics at\u00a0Dartmouth, and Carol Graham of the University of Maryland, in a new paper.<\/a> (The \u2018U-shape in well being\u2019 is the way economists describe the trend in average happiness in life, with the level starting out high, dropping lower and lower into the middle years, and then gradually rising again in old age.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe effects of the midlife dip we find are comparable to major life events such as losing a spouse or becoming unemployed,\u201d they write. Statistically, they find, this midlife slump in average well-being is about half as bad as the collapse in well-being measured in Britain during the last two years as a result of the Covid crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Read: This couple retired to Colombia on $4,000 a month. To live this lifestyle in California \u2018we\u2019d have to be mega mega millionaires\u2019<\/p>\n<p>And here was me, thinking the midlife slump was the result of being Generation X, sandwiched between a bunch of boomers who won\u2019t get off the stage and millennials who can\u2019t wait to run us over.<\/p>\n<p>Blanchflower and Graham\u2019s conclusion is based not only on their own research by a review of an astonishing 424 other studies conducted around the world, and mostly published in peer reviewed journals, that also reveal U shapes in happiness. In many cases, they find, the researchers themselves were unaware of the U shapes in their data.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cx-membership-tile\"><\/div>\n<p>Controversially, perhaps, they also argue that \u201cstudies cited by psychologists claiming there are no U-shapes are in error; we re-examine their data and find differently.\u201d (Expect some fireworks in academe.)<\/p>\n<p>Read: Are you ready to be part of The Great Resignation?<\/p>\n<p>Blanchflower and Graham report that this U shape in well-being has now been found in 145 countries and every U.S. state. Midlife is the worst period for most of us in terms of \u201cunhappiness, stress, lack of sleep, depression, and even suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It turns out even this millennium\u2019s surge in so-called \u201cdeaths of despair,\u201d from drugs, alcohol and suicide, is seen most prominently in the age group 35 to 64. Why is midlife the gloomiest period in our existence? Why do we get happier again as we get older, even as our health gets worse and we start to confront our imminent demise?<\/p>\n<p>Blanchflower and Graham\u2019s conclusions, based on a review of psychological and biological data, ring true. \u201cIndividuals learn to adapt to their strengths and weaknesses over time, and become much more realistic in their expectations, as they age. They also become emotionally \u2018wiser,\u2019 and have fewer emotional swings, and appreciate life more as they age, not least as they are much more likely to see friends and siblings die.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read: I failed at retirement. How to avoid my mistakes.<\/p>\n<p>Of course there is also a gloomier side to this: Those most prone to depression, despair, and even suicide are least likely to survive into old age, so they\u2019re not part of the sample group.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile there\u2019s another possibility worth considering, which is the course of individuals\u2019 careers and work lives.<\/p>\n<p>When they first join the workforce in their 20s, young people are apt to be blown away by the novelty of it, and especially the novelty of having money of their own for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>They can see all the ways work sucks, but they figure it may get better as they progress and become more senior.<\/p>\n<p>In their middle years the novelty has worn off \u2014 and they\u2019ve come to realize the office isn\u2019t getting better as they grow more senior, but is actually getting worse.\u00a0By this stage there is nothing to hide from them the realities of managerial incompetence and office politics. By their middle years they are apt to realize the shocking truth that the emperor has no clothes.<\/p>\n<p>As for the third stage in life? They\u2019ve retired. They no longer have to go into an office. So they no longer care.<\/p>\n<p>Tell me I\u2019m wrong.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"byline article__byline\">\n<p>    <span>By<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author mobile-scrim hasMenu\" data-scrim='{\"type\":\"author\",\"header\":\"Brett Arends\",\"subhead\":\"The Wall Street Journal\",\"list\":[{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"bio\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/topics\/journalists\/brett-arends\",\"text\":\"Biography\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"twitter\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrettArends\",\"text\":\"@BrettArends\"},{\"type\":\"link\",\"icon\":\"email\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/mailto:barends@marketwatch.com\",\"text\":\"barends@marketwatch.com\"}]}' itemscope itemprop=\"author\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/Person\">\n<h4 itemprop=\"name\" aria-label=\"links to  author page\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Brett_Arends\"><\/span>Brett Arends<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/news\/story.asp?guid=%7B20C05575-04D4-B545-76F9-0482BA31FFA9%7D&#038;siteid=rss&#038;rss=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Brett Arends&#039;s ROI: The shocking good news about getting older&#8221; The midlife slump is real \u2014 but it gets better If you\u2019re aged between 35 and 65, like me, here\u2019s some good news (for a change). Things are going to get better. Or, more accurately, things are going to feel better. It\u2019s official. The most&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":357683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.mktw.net\/im-422970\/social","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-357682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}