The Happiness Curve

February 12, 2018
Journalist Rauch (Political Realism) argues for a “happiness curve” to life—a common, U-shaped path from youthful idealism, through middle-aged disappointment, to eventual happiness—in this inspired take on midlife crises. In researching the topic, Rauch gave interviewees a questionnaire about their satisfaction level at the present and at earlier ages, finding that those in their 40s often describe feeling profoundly dissatisfied, even when there seemed no compelling reason to be so. Older subjects reported feeling the same demoralization during their 40s, but also increased satisfaction at their present age and even a “rebirth of gratitude.” What’s the reason for that return to contentment? It can be multilayered, Rauch says; it may surface as “a sense of mastery.” Or it may be that “settling increases our contentment.” While Rauch provides a few suggestions for getting through the low times—a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, for instance—it’s the many interviews with survey participants that will provide the most reassurance to readers. They will also take comfort from Rauch’s personal investment in the subject—he has moved through the bottom of his own happiness curve and concludes his heartening self-help book by writing that it was “worth the wait.”

March 15, 2018
Exploring the struggle for satisfaction at midlife.Brookings Institution senior fellow and Atlantic contributing editor Rauch (Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy, 2015, etc.) profiles an assortment of individuals who found themselves discontented in their 40s and 50s. Their lives had followed a classic trajectory: energized with motivation in their 20s and flush with responsibilities throughout their 30s, they eventually experienced a drastic downswing in happiness and fulfillment that proved challenging to overcome. In Rauch's search for answers, he gleans perspectives from everyday people, notables such as former blogger Andrew Sullivan and historical figures such as landscape painter Thomas Cole. Also illuminating are the author's frank reflections on his own personal life. While Rauch stresses that the scientific phenomenon of the "U-shaped life-satisfaction curve" is real and the midlife disillusionment slump perfectly natural, he also acknowledges the ways in which to counterbalance its effects and find an optimistic vantage point. "Time and aging fight happiness in midlife," he writes, "then switch sides." Rauch examines the nuances of human contentedness through the work of several "happiness economics" researchers who determined that social, not material, factors were most at play when measuring the happiness of people in later life, and he notes that the "curve" of midlife dissatisfaction is not necessarily an inevitability for everyone. Rauch's keen research, partly based on statistical and polled data yet more largely substantiated by interviews and profiles of everyday people, documents how happiness levels trend downward as midlife approaches but also charts a return to enjoyment, wisdom, and an uptick in overall fulfillment once midlife is crested. He convincingly scrutinizes this harmonic resurgence of overall satisfaction (a "rebirth of gratitude"), attested to by survey respondents who attributed it to stress reduction and emotional regulation. This uplifting report offers hope and encouragement for aging readers doubting the longevity of bliss.Stimulating reading for those seeking enlightenment and joyfulness throughout middle age.

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