Extraordinary and Ordinary Happiness in the Young and Old

A writer for The Atlantic, Derek Thompson, restated research on happiness published in the Journal of Consumer Research:

“Younger people, who view their future as extensive, gain more happiness from extraordinary experiences; however, ordinary experiences become increasingly associated with happiness as people get older, such that they produce as much happiness as extraordinary experiences when individuals have limited time remaining. Self-definition drives these effects: although extraordinary experiences are self-defining throughout one’s life span, as people get older they increasingly define themselves by the ordinary experiences that comprise their daily lives.”

Devamrita Swami