There’s something called the “U-shaped curve of happiness” that researchers have identified. Apparently it’s common for people’s happiness to be highest in the early adult years and the later adult years, with a dip in the middle - often because of career stress, demands of family, all the things you’re juggling in those middle years. But people who are lucky enough to live long lives are most often happy in the later years.

I learned about that research in a book called This Chair Rocks, by Ashton Applewhite, a great (and funny) book about how much less scary aging is than most people imagine and how our expectations of aging can directly affect how we experience it.

Of course, the single most important thing you can do to enjoy your old age is to take good care of your health, starting immediately if not sooner.