Is the first half of life better than the second half? (1 Viewer)

[Ed Wood]

First half is better but I expect the second half of my life to be much shorter than the first half. #mopmath 

I had logged out but signed back in when I read this.

Friggin' awesome!!!

 

[Otis]

Bump 

 

[FreeBaGeL]

The 2nd half is definitely different.  I'm not sure one is necessarily "better".  Grass is greener and all that.

I generally had a pretty good/average first half.  Great friends (who I am still friends with today), great memories.  But it's not like I was Joey ######## rocking a letterman jacket and banging chearleaders.  Heck I wasn't even doing that in college as I ended up marrying my high school sweetheart.  One tragedy (lost my father when I was a teenager).  Played lots of sports, drank lots of booze, generally good times.

We tend to think back on it as a carefree time where we had less responsibility but there was plenty of stressful stuff we forget about.  Our whole future was in the balance and we had important tests, college admissions, etc that could effect our desire to do the thing we wanted to do for the rest of our lives.  While some may slot it into the "boring" category there is definitely an appeal to where man of us Otis level FBGs are now where we know our future is secure and don't have any real worries about our securities going forward.

Kids being born was technically in the first half, but while a lot of people focus on this singular day of birth I'm not sure that particular day was any better than any day I get to spend with my kids as they grow up, so that's a win for the back half as the majority of the days I spend with them will fall into the back half.

There are certainly some things I miss from the first half.  A lot of things, including physically (as I limp around the house right now because I had the gaul to play a game of pickup basketball for a few hours where a younger me would have just gone about my day as if I hadn't even exerted myself) to miss, for sure.  But I also like being able to buy whatever I want, drive a nice car, live in a nice house, travel wherever I want, and of course most of all spend time with the family.

In the end I think I'm happy getting to experience both halves.  I don't think I'd want 80 years of either side of it.

 

[Tau837]

Isn’t the best year of your life always the one you are in? If not, why not?

The first half of my life was great, but there is no question in my mind that the second half is better. And this is from a man with a wife who is disabled and has suffered from terrible pain for more than 20 years. 

Not to be critical, but IMO later life is about maturity and properly weighting different life factors. Not rocket science but not everyone does it. 

 

[jwb]

Isn’t the best year of your life always the one you are in? If not, why not?

The first half of my life was great, but there is no question in my mind that the second half is better. And this is from a man with a wife who is disabled and has suffered from terrible pain for more than 20 years. 

Not to be critical, but IMO later life is about maturity and properly weighting different life factors. Not rocket science but not everyone does it. 

I'm 53 and feel this way. I had a great time at every stage of my life, and things are, more or less, where I want them now. 

I have some friends that pine for the old days, which I find a little strange. To me, it would be horrible to think that things never moved up from when I was 20 / 25 / etc.

I do realize this could all change - I'm not 100% sure when/if I'm 80 and in not-so-great health that I'll think "yea, right now = the best ever". But I'm also hopeful that if I do hit a point where life starts going downhill that I look back at the entire body of work with the satisfaction that I truly enjoyed it all. 

 

[Birdie048]

I'm 53 and feel this way. I had a great time at every stage of my life, and things are, more or less, where I want them now. 

I have some friends that pine for the old days, which I find a little strange. To me, it would be horrible to think that things never moved up from when I was 20 / 25 / etc.

I do realize this could all change - I'm not 100% sure when/if I'm 80 and in not-so-great health that I'll think "yea, right now = the best ever". But I'm also hopeful that if I do hit a point where life starts going downhill that I look back at the entire body of work with the satisfaction that I truly enjoyed it all. 

I understand this (being 56 myself), but I think I fall more into the "remembering with fondness" the good old days.... the things we did, adventures, experiences, "firsts", etc.  They are not something I would do today, but I do feel I lived my life pretty full at the time while today is more doses of happiness due to the obligations & age factors.  

I took up a hobby I really like and that is a big part of why I enjoy things now.  I made decisions along the way that led me here... so I guess I am a "shrug" at the poll. 

 

[-OZ-]

Isn’t the best year of your life always the one you are in? If not, why not?

Not necessarily. It's been great in so many ways, but when your daughter goes through chemo, at times you aren't sure if the transplant actually took... Yeah that sucked. 

All great now though, so the second half of 2019 is the best six months of our lives and we'll look back at the first half as a game changer, very positive end result. 

 

[General Malaise]

I was scared of death in the first half.  Now I embrace it with open arms.  

Want sobering?  When my twins are my age (46) I'll be 88.  Hint....I won't be 88.  

 

[Gary Coal Man]

First half of life has a natural advantage in being better because most of your experiences during that period of life are new and that novelty builds anticipation and excitement.  That happens to a far lesser degree during the second half of life.

 

[Spock]

The grass ain't greener, the wine ain't sweeter, either side of that hill.

Settle down easy.

 

[Tau837]

Isn’t the best year of your life always the one you are in? If not, why not?

I should have said a bit more in my first post. Some people think happiness is driven by the things that happen in your life. I don't completely disagree, but would add that IMO happiness is a choice.

I believe we can choose to be happy when happiness doesn't come easily. And I have lived that, with a wife who has been disabled and in extreme pain for more than 20 years. Sure, bad stuff happens, bad days happen, etc. But we are able to choose to let that stuff go and move on. We are able to choose to find happiness in our lives, even if only in the smallest things.

I hope all of you are able to make that choice as it applies to your lives. 

 

[-OZ-]

I should have said a bit more in my first post. Some people think happiness is driven by the things that happen in your life. I don't completely disagree, but would add that IMO happiness is a choice.

I believe we can make a choose to be happy when happiness doesn't come easily. And I have lived that, with a wife who has been disabled and in extreme pain for more than 20 years. Sure, bad stuff happens, bad days happen, etc. But we are able to choose to let that stuff go and move on. We are able to choose to find happiness in our lives, even if only in the smallest things.

I hope all of you are able to make that choice as it applies to your lives. 

Agreed with all, but if you're comparing times when you're fairly happy all the time, some times will still be better. 

If my 21st year was better than 42, that doesn't mean 42 was bad.