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Happiness begins at 33

Lucy Kippist

by Lucy Kippist

02 Apr 11:59am

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Filed under: Age, Happiness, Into The Wild, Society

66 comments

In the movie Into the Wild, screened on SBS this weekend, 23 year old Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, burns his birth certificate, gives his life savings to charity and hitchhikes his way to Alaska.


It’s a bold and somewhat romantic journey of self-discovery about fighting the inner demon, across a variety of incredibly picturesque parts of rural America. A kind of idyllic and over-blown version of what many people experience as they come of age in their twenties. Except that in this version, the journey of self-discovery ends in tragedy.

After three years on the road, and several encounters with people from all walks of life, McCandless dies starving, alone and trapped in the wilderness, having just realised that the secret to real happiness is a life that’s shared with others.

It’s a desperate ending and a disquieting film. One that left me in turns questioning whether his journey was either a) a sheer waste of life that could have been avoided had he chosen to return home at some point and face the wedge he felt with his parents. And b) an admiration for his courage, ingenuity and ability to live without so much of what we’re told we need in modern life.

The lesson of the film however is clear and important: the happiest of lives are those shared with others. It also goes some way to proving the science behind recent research from an English social-networking site that has found people are most happy from age 33 onwards.

Psychologist Donna Dawson told Time Magazine, the findings prove that by the age of 33 most of us have shaken off our childhood naiveté and replaced it with a strong sense of reality, hope and a can-do attitude, and a belief in our talents and abilities.

That’s a good summation. But it’s not perfect. Most people by the age of thirty have acquired a whole lot of other things that makes it easy to believe that they’re happier than at earlier times of their life.

As someone fast approaching her 33rd birthday, here’s what I’d add to the list. At around 33 you are likely to:

- Be more comfortable in your own skin. By the time you make it to thirty, the awkward teenage years are long behind you, but so too are the often manic twenties. Where you’re trying to pull absolutely everything from job, education, friends, love relationships altogether at once.

It’s okay to be who you want to be. And if that person is more inclined to stay at home and watch Grand Designs on a Sunday night, than head out to the beer garden, then that’s good and well. It’s also easier to put your foot down and not succumb to so much groupthink or peer pressure about weekend activities and holidays.

- Have formed a clear sense of direction. You’ve usually finished studying and any kind of long-term travel is either a holiday or a long-term stay in another country. In other words, you’ve put down some sort of roots and you’re more comfortable with the idea of committing to a five year plan in several areas of your life.

- You’ve got some money behind you. If it’s not savings, a house or a car, it’s at least a full time job and that gives you options and independence. You can live where you want, see who you want, and make plans.

- Trust your own life experience. Whether that’s from within the workplace, relationships, friendships, travel or just general interactions with other people. All of these experiences give you insight, understanding, sometimes empathy and just a sense that you’re not always taking off into new ground.

How much does this ring true for you? And how about older Punch readers, was 33 an age that you’ll remember or is the best yet to come?

Most commented

66 comments

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    • NN says:

      05:17pm | 03/04/12

      I’m 23 and I feel like this already! Is that bad? Am I meant to wait 10 years?

      Reply

    • Greg says:

      12:54pm | 03/04/12

      Good article, brilliant movie and some great thought provoking comments here. I am 32, have a beautiful wife and 2 kids, yet seldom stop thinking of grass being greener on the other side. I think that this mentality holds me back from being happy a lot of the time, as I’m sure it does for others. Sure, I can’t travel readily now with family and financial commitments, although I’d dearly love to, but I wouldn’t swap travel anywhere for what I have in its place. I have a lot in common with other contributors who discuss being “older than their age” and of compulsively other-thinking things. I would like to hope that I start embracing life more in terms of what I have rather than what I don’t - this works great in theory but falls by the wayside in day-to-day aspirations. We all have a future I guess which is our license to evolve our future into something we’d prefer our past and present to have been…

      Reply

    • Graham S says:

      12:40pm | 03/04/12

      Wasn’t this film done 40 years ago, called Easy Rider?
      As for these “life discovery movies” ( give me a break) why not ask an old Battle of Britain Spitfire pilot or a Kokoda veteran what life was offering them at 23 and how their journey of “self discovery” panned out as they had a Messerschmitt up their arse or a Nip sniper potting their mates off.  These type films are a crock and a waste of celluloid.

      Reply

    • Thetruthwouldn'thurt says:

      11:48am | 03/04/12

      I was 3 years out of my first marriage at 33. But I am also one who has always been way too grown up for my age. That doesn’t mean I don’t have fun, but it does mean that, as a youngster, you are kinda on the outer a bit. I was the first to move away, marry, have children, divorce and remarry. I’m very happy. Well, if our 2 ex’s would leave us alone I would be happier!

      It is amazing the amount of parents though who don’t have their shit together. And the people I’m referring to are 36-45 yrs old.

      Accept life as it comes people! If you don’t like it change it. If you can’t change it, go along with it.  Appreciate what you have and remember things happen as they are meant to. The reasons may not always be immediately apparent, but they usually make themselves clear eventually.

      Reply

    • Gregg says:

      12:12am | 03/04/12

      Life has a lot of variables Lucy and though many people may lead similar lives, there will also be many with vastly different circumstances to contend with and that can include health of family, security of employment, relationships etc.

      Being a long way past 33, I had to think a bit of where I was at 33 and what life for me held then and in doing that I can recall many good years leading up to 33 and also many after 33 though when 33 itself I was in a somewhat unsettled period of my life though that corrected itself within a few years.

      You yourself are still very much in your honeymoon period and life should be good and with you and your beloved both having secure well paid jobs and good health, yes you should be able to look forward to many good years but then nobody can really forecast what is ahead and all you can do is attempt to make good plans of what you hope to do and that itself should bring happiness.

      Happiness is a state of mind and thus it will vary so much for everybody and whereas the years up to 33 may have been happy in that you may have been more of a free spirit, so may they be beyond with a greater sense of fulfillment but with fulfillment will also likely come greater responsibilities and how that is handled will also affect happiness.

      Mal above has more than a sceric of truth in
      ” I am 61 and would love to be 33 again to relive life and avoid all the mistakes I made afterwards ahhahahahaha ahhahahahaha hohoho!!! “
      Putting it another way, here’s to living and learning and not so much yearning.
      Rather than make the most of every day, do what you can and most of all be honest to yourself and to others but do not dwell too heavily on that which you wish could have been otherwise.

      Happiness will hopefully come in many different forms and there will also be times of sadness if not despair.

      Reply

    • Little Joe says:

      11:08pm | 02/04/12

      I actually remember my 33rd birthday very well.

      Shared it with my wife of 8-years and my 3yo son.

      Don’t look to be happy, don’t look for being content, look for peace.

      Reply

    • marley says:

      07:23pm | 02/04/12

      As an older Puncher, I’d say I started coming into my own in my 30s - I had more self confidence, a stronger sense of what I did and did not want out of life, and a better understanding of people, than I’d ever had in my teens and 20s.  I’d started to achieve some balance – I’d realised that issues and values were seldom black and white, that things I’d thought were tremendously important were actually not, that my own opinions weren’t inevitably correct, and that those who disagreed with me weren’t unalterably stupid.  In other words, I’d acquired a degree of patience and tolerance that would have been alien to my 22-year old self.  Perhaps that amounts to the beginnings of wisdom.

      The other things you start to build in your 30s – a financial base, a career path, a solid relationship, all came along in due course, as did the inevitable failures and disappointments.  But at 35 or 40, I could handle the latter without going off the deep end.  I think age and maturity bring a clearer sense of direction, and the persistence to keep going.  Not all 20-somethings have that. I know I didn’t.

      My forties and fifties had their ups and downs as well – good in terms of relationship and filthy lucre – a rollercoaster in terms of work and career.  But by then, resilience was my middle name.  As was a strong sense of the ridiculous, because there’s a lot about life that is just plain silly.

      Now that I’m in my early 60s, I’d say, yes, happiest period of my life.  I have sufficient income to do most of the things I want to do, and the sense not to want to do those things I can’t afford.  There’s a stability I haven’t had since I was a kid (first time I’ve lived in one place for more than six years since childhood).  Most of all, there’s time.  The time to sit and watch the birds flitting around the garden.  The time to read a book.  The time to take a walk along the beach and look for whales.  And freedom.  The freedom to just throw a bag into the back of the car and take off for a few days. Or book a holiday and just go. 

      Whether that constitutes happiness, I don’t know. But it’s enough to be getting on with.

      Reply

    • Scotchfinger says:

      09:34pm | 02/04/12

      I hope to get to that point in my sixties. I wish I had more time to read, have got a great book collection but it seems difficult getting the chance to sit down. Maybe when the kids get a bit older. In praise of leisure - about the only thing Bertrand Russell said that I agree with…

    • James says:

      06:00pm | 02/04/12

      A great movie which really changed my life. After seeing this I decided not to sit around and waste and more time. However in his death it leaves us with a positive message that true happiness is happiness shared. i’ve never forgotten that either. Love tghe poem he reads about his parents too…always brings a tear to my eye.

      Reply

    • Mikka says:

      03:51pm | 02/04/12

      What it doesn’t say is that you’re just about to decend into a middle aged pit of despair so enjoy 33 whilst you can because just around the corner is a massive mortgage, years of sleep deprivation from having new born children and the unkindest cut of all - years of forced listening to the Wiggles.

      Reply

    • subotic of The Majestic 12 says:

      03:40pm | 02/04/12

      I’m 42 and hope to make it to 12 by the end of the year. And staying 12 too.

      12 years olds don’t worry about shit, don’t *have* to worry about shit, and no matter what they do they don’t get in trouble for it. And being 12 is one less year than being a god-awful tween. What’s not to like?

      12 is the new black.

      Reply

    • Scob says:

      03:33pm | 02/04/12

      My mum told me that there would be many horrible events in my life, but I need not worry about them beforehand, as they will knock very loudly when they come to call.

      Reply

    • Mal says:

      03:17pm | 02/04/12

      I am 61 and would love to be 33 again to relive life and avoid all the mistakes I made afterwards ahhahahahaha ahhahahahaha hohoho!!!

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      03:15pm | 02/04/12

      I didn’t like the film really.
      I remember when I walked out of the cinema right before closing credits, every girl was snivelling.

      I don’t think the character in the film was ever happy.
      He was running away more so than searching for anything.
      It’s true, though, that we cannot ‘find’ ourselves on our own ; that we need feedback and the reinforcements of social contact to determine our natures and to give us a certain rhythm, so to speak.
      But on the other hand, I think that too much contact with others, whether it be personal, or via the internet and so forth, does not give us enough time to think ... about anything.
      When we talk, we don’t really think.
      We just make things up as we go along.
      But alone, we can find out answers to our questions, and come to some conclusions which may or may not be confirmed with social contact.
      There has to be a balance I suppose, but being expressly alone or otherwise will not give us the answers we need.

      Reply

    • Sarah says:

      03:00pm | 02/04/12

      I think being content is probably far more achievable and far less overrated.

      And its learning that ‘content’ means accepting what one has and making peace with the difference between what one has and what one wants - in the context of materialism at least.

      Is that too hippy dippy?

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      03:52pm | 02/04/12

      Flower power, bro.

    • Lol says:

      03:00pm | 02/04/12

      I’m about 27 days shy of my 33rd birthday and I still haven’t figured out a damn thing.  How inadequate do I feel right now?

      Reply

    • Anne71 says:

      08:11am | 03/04/12

      Don’t worry, Lol. Anybody who says they’ve got it all figured out, regardless of their age,  is either delusional or lying wink

    • Emma says:

      03:12pm | 02/04/12

      Well, maybe you will meet the boy/girl of your life in the next 27 days!

    • john says:

      02:57pm | 02/04/12

      having been born in a 3rd world country and now living in the greatest country on earth, every day is wonderful. Yes i’m happy and eternally grateful to the public servant(s) that granted us PR status with the stoke of a pen and the stomp of a stamp.

      Reply

    • Cynicised says:

      02:39pm | 02/04/12

      Happiness begins when you choose it. It isn’t dependent on age, financial situation, romance situation or even your health. Happiness is about a  mindset which doesn’t centre on being attached too strongly to anything. That’s not to say that one doesn’t love, one does, unconditionally, but without clinging. This is a very Buddhist approach and it works. We may not be able to control what happens to us in some respects, but we can always control our reaction to our circumstances. It’s all in our heads.

      Reply

    • kitteh says:

      02:19pm | 02/04/12

      I’d add developing a real community focus to the other advantages. In your 30s you’re not so obsessed with me me me my experiences my personal growth my share my life. And in general you have a better base to work from and are more realistic, so you are better equipped to make an actual difference.

      I do think the recently emerged ‘cult of parenthood’ is undermining this, though - instead of turning outward, a lot of people in their 30s now turn their focus entirely to their children and claim that that makes them ‘selfless’. In actuality, it is maintaining the focus on self - it has just expanded to a self-made product now.

      Reply

    • fairsfair says:

      02:43pm | 02/04/12

      well said kitteh

    • Emma says:

      02:37pm | 02/04/12

      Yes I agree with that. But I dont think that it is done with intent or actual awareness.

    • adam says:

      02:19pm | 02/04/12

      I’m content all the time and happy some of the time.
      Is life what or where I’d imagined in my youth? No probably not. Would I change anythign in or from the past? Absolutely not. Content to be who and where I am.

      Happiness is floating in my tinny on Lake Mac, hoping to catch a fish or two, watching the eagles glide overhead and seeing the lake’s two dolphins still calling the place home. Happiness is seeing Monty the wonderdog’s reaction when I come home after work.

      Happiness is waking up each morning in a place where most of us have nothing to really fear from the day ahead.

      Reply

    • Emma says:

      02:30pm | 02/04/12

      “Happiness is waking up each morning in a place where most of us have nothing to really fear from the day ahead.”

      Haha, that excludes me then because I am always a bit scared of what my boss will do to me the next day! smile

    • S.L says:

      01:58pm | 02/04/12

      Well as someone who just ticked over 49 years I can’t really say I’ve grown up yet! I’m planning to build a hotrod after I buy a house shortly. I’m taking my young kids to Disneyland next year for my 50th (with a detour to the countless rod shops in So Cal for some ideas and bits). I still wear earings and have the scars of youth (tattoos) but the hair is getting more silvery every day (and thankfully I’m not going bald!). Since my last birthday I decided to put some effort into conforming to my age…......that lasted 2 days! Am I happy? I think so.
      All this “I have to find myself” is rubbish! You are what you are so just be happy!!!!

      Reply

    • JN says:

      05:02pm | 02/04/12

      I’m glad you wrote this. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me. I have felt pretty much the same way my whole life - largely happy and content. I can’t understand this obsession with benchmarking your life and always thinking you should do more. Just do what you want to do - we are fortunate enough to live in a country where that is possible. Go hard with the hotrod. It’s not quite the same but I bought a Plymouth Cuda several years ago out of the States, when they were still reasonably priced, and spent a few years doing it up. The thing puts a smile on my dial every time I fire up the hemi.

    • S.L says:

      03:47pm | 02/04/12

      Adam no matter what I or anyone writes here there’ll always be someone with a “dark” interpretation of what is said.
      Great Damo I’ve dealt with kids with Aspergers Syndrome for many years in my job and I can’t recall any that weren’t happy despite the hand they’ve been dealt in life….........

    • adam says:

      02:53pm | 02/04/12

      Damo, with all due respect I think S.L was using “I have to find myself” in the more hippy go and live in a yurt, join a commune type of meaning. I’m certain he wasn’t refering to any undiagnosed issues you or any other Puncher may have

    • Great Damo says:

      02:37pm | 02/04/12

      And what if you don’t know what you are?

      I have just turned 31, and a month before I hit the birthday, I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. All my life I wondered why I could not make friends, keep acquaintances, and why I was always seen as “eccentric”.

      Knowing I think differently to everyone else hasn’t helped me all that much - in a way it has made me more confused about who I am, who I should be, and the repercussions of trying to live a socially normal life while naturally yearning to live a socially abnormal life.

      I just hope that by the time I’m 33, I have an understanding of who I am. Then, and only then, I think I will be content with my life.

    • Tubesteak says:

      01:35pm | 02/04/12

      33 is about the time where you’ve gotten some traction and footing in your career. Things are starting to hum along and you’ve finally hit a decent wicket with salary.

      You’ve also got some savings behind you or have started building some assets.

      You also know where you stand with relationships. How you fit. What you want. What works for you. That youthful naivete has definitely worn off.

      You’re on a long path of contentment. You know where some of the traps lie. You’ve figured out some of the tricks.

      Reply

    • Kassandra says:

      01:03pm | 02/04/12

      What does the word “happy” mean? Happ was the Middle English word for chance, fortune or what happens in the world. This means if more good things happen to you than bad things, then you are happy. The ancient Greeks said “Call no man happy until he is dead”. Maybe because right up until then you could still cop some major grief at any tick of the clock. The Greeks were also the first to seriously challenge this idea. To Socrates you were happy if you lead a good life. To Aristotle happiness was a divine reward for being a good person. Happiness now came from goodness rather than from luck. The next chapter in the history of happiness came with the Enlightenment, when it became a pursuit rather than a reward. Now it seems to be no longer a pursuit but an expectation. If all you have to worry about is how happy you are then you don’t have much to worry about.

      Reply

    • Craig2 says:

      01:00pm | 02/04/12

      At 31, I sold up everything I owned or gave it away, backpacked around Europe for a yr and settled in England for another three. It’s true, met some great people while traveling but the yearning to settle and be with other people, to form normal relationships is a strong pull. Would I do it again, no, it was a lonely existence, moving from place to place every few days or a week and not knowing or having a plan on the next place, I just went. Talk about getting shit out your system! smile

      Reply

    • baddog says:

      12:55pm | 02/04/12

      Totally agree with the author’s hypothesis. I’m 33 now and while I now have to watch what I eat, I wouldn’t swap being 33 for being 23, ever! With some life, love and professional experience under my belt I’ve no problems with peer pressure or feeling like I *have* to do something otherwise my mates won’t like me. I think the best thing about being in your 30’s in knowing who’s a good friend, and whose not worthy of your precious time. Who you surround yourself with is integral for a positive, successful life and all the dramas of the 20s can be left behind while firmer friendships are forged in your 30’s.

      Reply

    • subotic says:

      12:53pm | 02/04/12

      Happiness isn’t a destination.

      It’s a way of travel.

      Reply

    • Steven says:

      09:57pm | 02/04/12

      This

    • Economist says:

      12:53pm | 02/04/12

      Well I’m going to make a gross generalisation here… all the arguments in this article show why you shouldn’t get married till you’re close to 33. Does anyone have stats on the length of marriages for over 30 vs under 30s?

      Reply

    • Economist says:

      07:44pm | 02/04/12

      Scotchfinger you know me to well. A logistic regression of to marry or not to marry though is equal to the number of teeth she has, minus the percentage variation from the golden ratio,  minus the number of shotguns owned by the father divided by his IQ, plus the error term…...what you reckon….. 
      Nah, its basically her ability to put up with the crap that flows from my keyboard/mouth. Seriously could you put up with someone who writes such shite on The Punch.

    • Scotchfinger says:

      05:16pm | 02/04/12

      Stats; generalisations of the gross kind: everything an economist hates. I hope you didn’t propose to your wife following some sort of Von Neumann-esque algorithm: your respective ages; congenital disease risk; earning power; political persuasion; her looks vs your looks (Gosling/Cary Grant); etc etc

      where is the romance, the sheer drama of decision-making?

    • Fiona says:

      03:51pm | 02/04/12

      The only problem there is that the average females biology would mean children would have to come along sooner rather than later if people waited til about 33. After 35, it’s all downhill for a woman’s fertility.

    • Simmo says:

      02:53pm | 02/04/12

      Well my wife and I got married at 21 and 20 respectively have 3 children aged 11, 9 and 6 and have been married for almost 13 years…

      In that time we have gone to some pretty big highs and down to some very low lows, but I must say (and it may just be coincidental) but now that we are both 33 we have finally worked out what is best for us together in life and are working at making the rest of our life happy…

      On a side note, in the last 13 years of being married we know of at least a dozen couples that have been married and divorced in that time (some people must just think when it all gets a bit hard it’s easier to walk away - poor form people….)

    • Tubesteak says:

      01:32pm | 02/04/12

      I know that second marriages end in higher divorce rates than first marriages

      Not quite the answer to your question though.

    • chopper knows says:

      12:50pm | 02/04/12

      At 33 you don’t really OWN your home, you’ve got a big debt called a mortage!
      So don’t kid yourself children…

      Reply

    • fairsfair says:

      12:31pm | 02/04/12

      This movie is probably the best movie adaptation of a book I have seen. Sean Penn did a cracking job (maybe it is due to the fact the book is small). I found the book very difficult to read at times, but it really affected me on a personal level.

      I am five years and four weeks off 33. At 26 I own a home I have travelled I have studied I continue to study and I have a varied employment history. I have always been too mature for my years (even as a little kid) and though that has its advantages, it also has its disadvantages. I have never found it easy to form relationships with people my own age. It is a bit different now, as my friends are starting to grow up and become interested in things that I am interested in, but at the same time I have always felt that there is something missing from my life. Which looking at things, is probably a bit silly.

      I hope at 33 I will have either lost that feeling or found that thing!

      Reply

    • fairsfair says:

      02:07pm | 02/04/12

      I have also become a far more patient driver! I agree with everything you say Emma - I hope I find out what it is that is stopping me being comfortable with myself. Such a first world problem I know…

      As others have said - I think content is a better word and in all honesty, I am content. I don’t think many people would know what happy was if it bit them in the *ss (myself included) wink

    • Emma says:

      01:37pm | 02/04/12

      I loved the movie. Great story.

      I find that we grow more tolerant of others the older we get which is a good thing. As well, you accept and understand more things about yourself. I am 29 and feel most confident in my body, and wear the clothes I like and not the clothes that are in fashion. You can have a far better relationship (and intimacy) with someone else when you are comfortable with yourself.

    • amy says:

      12:28pm | 02/04/12

      oh..but I thourht highscool was suposed to be the best time of my life?

      ...they lied…

      also “self disvocery” blaaghh what kind of new age bullshit is that?

      Reply

    • subotic says:

      01:09pm | 02/04/12

      ummm… the new age kind?

    • Huonian says:

      12:19pm | 02/04/12

      I’m the wrong side of 60 yet I feel happier now than ever before.  A large part of that is having worked out that there’s a only a few things that piss me off that I can actually do much about.  So the secret is not to have such a long list of things that piss you off.  Also a strong sense of satisfaction that what my wife and I have got, both material goods and the more important intangibles, has been earned through honest toil and not by some of the dodgey stuff that passes for “work” these days. 

      It’s a pity so many of my age seem to be thoroughly grumpy. 

      Wasn’t it Winston Churchill that said 90% of what you worry about doesn’t end up happening, 9% happens anyway - so is the remaining 1% really worth all that angst?

      Reply

    • marley says:

      08:15am | 03/04/12

      @acotrel - well, bear in mind your ex-wife also had to do 32 years.  And I doubt she murdered anyone either.

    • acotrel says:

      03:45am | 03/04/12

      ‘Wasn’t it Winston Churchill that said 90% of what you worry about doesn’t end up happening, 9% happens anyway - so is the remaining 1% really worth all that angst?’

      I remarried - life is good !  It only took 32 years to get free, you get less than that for murder !

    • Johnno says:

      12:10pm | 02/04/12

      Brad Pitt in an interview with Australian 60 minutes made a famous comment. 
      Happiness is over rated. I agree with him. This modern day society pressure, to always be be 100% bubbly and cheerful is so unrealistic. Tv sitcoms you know the ones, make a fortune out of this question them “Are you happy”.
      Happiness is impossible in reality. Can a person ever be 100% happy. I prefer the word content in life, to being happy. And eternal happiness is well impossible .

      Reply

    • Chopper knows says:

      03:06pm | 02/04/12

      Really? Brad Pitt had his $2million dollar Bugatti Veyron shipped over to Europe for his driving pleasure whilst his Wife was working on some European film..and he is saying Happiness is over rated?If I got to drive a Veyron I would be more then happy! Brad Pitt is over rated I say!

    • Hannah says:

      02:56pm | 02/04/12

      But bubbly and happy are two different things. I’m not a very bubbly person, but I do feel happy. My demeanor probably doesn’t outwardly change no matter how I feel. Happiness is not an expression or personality type.

    • Rachel says:

      02:44pm | 02/04/12

      First definition I found on the web:  state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.
      I think by the time you hit 33, you no longer have misconceptions about happiness. I like adam’s thought ‘Happiness is waking up each morning in a place where most of us have nothing to really fear from the day ahead.’
      At 33, I have all my ducks in a row. Anything I want is entirely achievable and already in the plan. There’s no day to day angst and though there are bad times, I have the strength, knowledge and support to get through it. Life is good and it’s only going to get better.

    • Miles says:

      02:35pm | 02/04/12

      Is that like the quote in ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ where he talks about highlighting the ‘Pursuit’ part in questioning if it can ever be truly gained?

    • Martin says:

      02:26pm | 02/04/12

      @Johnno

      Agreed. We blunder through good, bad and mediocre times our entire lives, so contentment is about the best one can ask for. As an older guy nearing retirement, I don’t dwell on missed opportunities, what might have been or how outrageously wealthy and successful some of my school friends are. I’ve got a good partner, good health, family, work stability and enough money to retire on when my turn comes around.

      I feel for people who can never achieve happiness because their life expectations far outweigh reality. Learn to live with the bad as well as the good and count your blessings.

    • Emma says:

      01:39pm | 02/04/12

      Maybe “content” is a better term than “happy”? Happy as you say gives the idea you have to be cheery and laughing all the time, but you might as well be calm and content within yourself.

 
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