Why So Many People Get Happier With Age, and How to Start Now

That bottle at the back of the cupboard, the good dishes still in the box, the friend you'll call once things calm down. If you're saving the good things for later, you're probably also assuming happiness peaks young and slides from here.

On average, the research points the other way. Large surveys and long-term studies suggest that for many people, everyday emotional life grows more positive and more stable with age. These are averages, not promises, but the downhill story isn't what the evidence shows.

This episode looks at one of the most useful explanations, Laura Carstensen's idea that how people see their time shapes what they choose to spend it on, and why that shift doesn't have to wait for a birthday.

Then it turns the idea into one simple weekly question you can start using this Sunday, with honest guardrails for busy family life.

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7 Good Minutes is presented by OCEANSCAPE and published by The Extraordinary Network.