To quote Abraham Lincoln, “People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Or do you think happiness, ‘just happens?’
If you were to stop people randomly on the street and ask them if they were happy, chances are most of them would say, “Yes.”
Happiness can mean different things to different people. One kind of happiness is a sense of calm well-being. Another kind of happiness is a feeling of pleasant excitement. Older people (who are generally less focused on the future) are more likely to experience the calm type of happiness. A recent University gerontology program study identifies the predictors of happiness and depression late in life. Researchers posed questions that assessed happiness and life satisfaction. They discovered resources did not affect happiness but that “past life satisfaction” had a direct association, proving to be the key to happiness in oldest years.