1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,960 A quick warning, if you're under 50, this video doesn't particularly include any good 2 00:00:05,960 --> 00:00:07,320 news for you. 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:10,080 And this is meant to be a good news video. 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:12,880 So you may wish to scroll on. 5 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,040 Okay, now the young ones have gone. 6 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:17,480 Let's get into the good news. 7 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:22,440 And it's all about my favorite chart in the whole world. 8 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:26,720 And that's the average life satisfaction by age chart. 9 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,160 Or as it's sometimes called, the happiness curve. 10 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:35,760 So what this shows is that from the age of 50, the average happiness across the world 11 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:36,760 increases. 12 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:42,640 And we see these similar smile curves in high income, middle income and low income countries. 13 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,000 And the UK is no exception. 14 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,240 So if you're an average 50 year old, things are looking up. 15 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,600 At least on happiness fronts anyway. 16 00:00:52,600 --> 00:01:00,080 And what's even better is the same truth, you're 60, 70 or even 80. 17 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:06,120 Happiness often improves after the age of 50 due to seven different factors. 18 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,880 And number seven for me is particularly important. 19 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:13,440 The number one, that's life experience and wisdom. 20 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:20,240 So by the age of 50, many people have accumulated a wealth of life experiences and wisdom. 21 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:26,240 And this helps them face challenges better and also to appreciate some of the positives 22 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:27,240 in life. 23 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,680 Now the second one is financial stability. 24 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:35,920 So many individuals are more financially stable by the time hit the 50s. 25 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:44,360 And this reduces money related stress and allows you more time to enjoy life. 26 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:47,240 The third one is personal relationships. 27 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:52,680 Now relationships do become more meaningful as you get old and friendships and family 28 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,280 bonds just become much more important in life. 29 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:02,520 And there's often more time to work on these relationships and these connections. 30 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,720 The next one is self acceptance. 31 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:11,080 People tend to have a better understanding and acceptance of themselves. 32 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:16,360 And this leads to increased confidence and contentment really. 33 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:21,280 Next one for me is the focus on health and well being. 34 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:26,960 So quite often when we get to this age, there's often much more time spent thinking about 35 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,280 our health and our own well being. 36 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,720 And this can contribute to an overall level of happiness. 37 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:36,280 And then we've got freedom and leisure. 38 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:41,640 So our children have grown up, careers have been established and there's often more time 39 00:02:41,640 --> 00:02:46,480 for hobby use and travel and some of the leisure activities. 40 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:52,120 And the last one, most important one for me is that we step off the hedonic treadmill. 41 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:58,120 So this is the tendency for us humans to return to a relatively stable level of happiness 42 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:04,080 despite significant positives or negative events in our life. 43 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:11,360 So if we wide the hedonic treadmill, this often refers to the cycle of continually seeking 44 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:17,560 new pleasures or new material gains in the hope of achieving some less than happiness 45 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:22,840 only to find that the happiness is really temporary and you quickly return back to your 46 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:24,520 base level of happiness. 47 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:31,560 And this cycle can lead to constant pursuit without ever feeling truly happy. 48 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:38,360 I read one Sir Tungun Cheek comment in one of my videos which said that I will never 49 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:42,000 truly be happy until I get the iPhone 12. 50 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:43,800 That really did make me chuckle in there. 51 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,480 It stuck with me for some time actually. 52 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:54,280 So here are some key aspects of riding that hedonic treadmill. 53 00:03:54,280 --> 00:04:02,240 So temporary happiness, achievements or acquisitions buying things like a new car or a promotion 54 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,280 or a holiday. 55 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:08,640 These provide very short term boosts in happiness. 56 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:14,080 And then we have something called the dictation which over time you get used to these new 57 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:16,280 circumstances. 58 00:04:16,280 --> 00:04:25,040 This initial happiness fades and then phase three is increased desires and as you adapt 59 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,600 your expectations and your desires increase. 60 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:36,400 This leads to you to seek out more and more intense sources of happiness. 61 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:40,960 Then you have the cyclical pursuit and this creates a cycle where you're always chasing 62 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:47,240 the next new thing but never really achieving that lasting contentment you're always looking 63 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:48,240 for. 64 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:55,600 So understanding this concept can help you to recognise the importance of focusing on 65 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:01,920 the sustainable sources of happiness as we mentioned and these are personal growth, meaningful 66 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:08,080 relationships and activities that actually align with your personal values. 67 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:15,520 Okay, so in our fifties we do tend to step off the hedonic treadmill and this definitely 68 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:17,000 brings some benefits. 69 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:21,560 And the first of these is increased life satisfaction. 70 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:27,920 So by focusing on these meaningful and fulfilling activities rather than constantly seeking 71 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:34,440 them new pleasures you can actually experience a deeper sense of contentment and satisfaction 72 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,840 with your overall life. 73 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:40,080 And also reduce stress. 74 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:44,520 So this constant pursuit of material gains and these fleeting pleasures can be really 75 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:45,640 stressful. 76 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:51,520 So shifting your focus to more sustainable sources of happiness and then there's also 77 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:53,000 enhanced relationships. 78 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:59,840 So this is prioritising the meaningful connections over the material possessions and this can 79 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:05,560 lead to much more fulfilling relationships and can provide a greater sense of belonging 80 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,160 and support. 81 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:12,080 And these all lead to improved mental health. 82 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:19,160 So things like being grateful, being mindful really do help you to step off that hedonic 83 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:24,920 treadmill and these have really been linked in lots of different studies to better mental 84 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:29,800 health and reduce symptoms of both anxiety and depression. 85 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,880 Okay, so we're all 50 plus. 86 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:39,040 We're getting happier every day and I'll check in with you regularly to see how we're all 87 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:40,040 doing. 88 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:42,240 See you on the next one. 89 00:06:42,240 --> 00:07:10,960 Thank you.