Why do I ask? Because Rasmussen Polls just released what struck me as an absurd poll result: that 59% of those polled said the best years of their lives were before the age of 40. The first 20 of those 40 years include adolescence and late adolescence. Twenty-to-thirty typically includes entry-level jobs where you’re treated as fungible and disposable. That feels really great.
Please cast your vote in the Comments section, and then we’ll compare our poll figures to Scott Rasmussen’s. I’m going to roll the dice and bet that at least 59% of PJM Lifestyle readers say that their years after 40 have been their best.
When you comment, please make clear which way you’re voting.
It’s not for nothing that one of the most popular television series in TV history was Life Begins at 40. No one said it better than the divine Miss Sophie Tucker:
Just reading the words (emphasis added by yours truly) should stuff the PJM ballot box in favor of post-40 being the best years of our lives:
LIFE BEGINS AT FORTY
(Jack Yellin / Ted Shapiro)
A Musical Monologue by Sophie Tucker
I’ve often heard it said and sung
That life is sweetest when you’re young
And kids, sixteen to twenty-one
Think they’re having all the fun
I disagree, I say it isn’t so
And I’m one gal who ought to know
I started young and I’m still going strong
But I’ve learned as I’ve gone along…….
That life begins at forty
That’s when love and living start to become a gentle art
A woman who’s been careful finds that’s when she’s in her prime
And a good man when he’s forty knows just how to take his time
Conservative or sporty, it’s not until you’re forty
That you learn the how and why and the what and when
In the twenties and the thirties you want your love in large amounts
But after you reach forty, it’s the quality that counts.
Yes, life begins at forty
And I’ve just begun to live all over again
You see the sweetest things in life grow sweeter as the years roll on
Like the music from a violin that has been well played upon
And the sweetest smoke is from a mellow, broken and old pipe
And the sweetest tasting peach is one that’s mature, round and ripe
In the twenties and the thirties you’re just an amateur
But after you reach forty, that’s when you become a connoisseur
Then it isn’t grab and get it and a straight line for the door
You’re not hasty, you’re tasty, you enjoy things so much more
For instance, a novice gulps his brandy down, he doesn’t understand
Observe a connoisseur, the way he holds it in his hand
How he strokes the glass, fondles it, warms it as he should
Smaks his lips, aahhh, slowly sips, hah, boy, it tastes good
Life begins at forty
Then it isn’t hit and run and you find much more fun
You romance a girl of twenty and it costs you all your dough
But when a forty thanks you, she hates to see you go
And girls of twenty, all they want are big men
Big men with strong physiques
I don’t say that it’s bad
But you do get tired of those damn Greeks
Life begins at forty
And I’m just living all over again
I cast my vote for Life Gets Better After 50! But since 50 is the new 40… sure, life gets better after 40, too.
Sorry to disappoint, but other than high school, I had a BALL before I turned 40. Now I fret over trivial things like crab grass, paying the mortgage, regularity, and politics.
I didn’t earn much, didn’t own much, but didn’t much care about anything other than chasing skirts and having a good time. I lived in Italy for a couple years in my 20s, so I got to enjoy it before I was too old to enjoy it.
I was only responsible enough to keep from starving until I was nearly 30.
Life is much less fun now.
I’m 49 and can say for sure that my life has gotten much, much better. Even through three layoffs, multiple relocations, losing a parent, and other challenges.
I really couldn’t complain about any of it. Every age is enjoyable in its own way. Although it’s much less worrisome now that I’ve gotten where I wanted to go.
They lyrics to that song strike me as rationalization.
Sure, I have more money now that I’m past 40, but I also have more responsibility – and the reason I had so much fun when I was younger was because I didn’t have to worry about supporting a family and paying all these bills. There are definite trade-offs.
Definitely past 40 is better. And I agree for exactly the reasons in the article. Not to mention everything just makes more sense now, I know who I am (which is a great relief if you were never strongly integrated into one culture, which then provides you with an identity), and child rearing, if not finished, is close to it.
As the Viagra ad says: “This is the time when you know how to get things done.”
Thank God for our advertising industry.
I’m 43 and I’ve never been happier. My husband and I’ve been married 19 years and still get along great. I’m more confident than I was when I was younger and not afraid of expressing who I am. I knew when I was 20 that it wouldn’t be until I was 40 that I’d hit my stride and I was right! Life’s never been better!
Much rather be in my late twenties, early thirties, at most. It’s no picnic experiencing the decline in my physical health and even mental acuity after 40. =’[.]‘=
But remember the alternative….
Hypothetically, we’re discussing a choice whether or not to be younger and healthier. I should be glad that, old as I am, I’m not dead YET? =0[.]o=
The 50′s have been my best years BY FAR, and I confidently expect my 60′s to be even better!
Just turned 63 and celebrated 44 years with my true love. House is paid off, child is settled into his life…and we are free to do whatever strikes our fancy.
Heck, folks. I think life gets better at about 76. Most of the idiot acquaintances have already begun to die off. Most competitors in all fields are dead or nearly so. People who harbor bad thoughts about you are similarly gone. Old lovers who never got to have fulfillment with you now seek you out–now that you are shooting blanks and may not be able to rise to the occasion–still, it’s fun. Your kids are employed. Even your grandkids are getting out of school. Mostly you get to do what you want. No need to read newspapers or watch TV since you have finally realized it’s all BS anyway. No urge to make new friends, as they will turn out tobe just as bad as the old ones, now mostly departed. You get to spend more time with the dogs.
Oh, yeah, and the house is paid off [thanks SouthernGal] and since you can’t see anymore–not well enough to drive at speed–you don’t need a car. Life gets simpler and simpler. You don’t need as much food as the furnace is not called on to run races or withstand great stress. And no one expects you to perform herculean sexual feats. With your Kindle fullu charged and up to date, you don’t need to go shopping for books, just sit back and read all the great stuff you never could find in book stores anyway.
Oh, yes, I agree — life is fantastic after 40.
I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy the years before 40, but there were painful times too — a divorce and some wrong career moves.
In my mid-thirties I met the woman I would marry when I was 36 — I was 39 when we had a daughter — I was 40 when my wife and I both earned master’s degrees together — 42 when we had a son.
Now I’m 68, still working for good pay in a job and a field that I like and I get to work from home. I’ll probably retire in a couple of years (which will give me time to work on other things that interest me).
The nest is now empty, but I have three great adult children, a marvelous daughter-in-law, and two delightful grandsons. My wife and I are deeply in love and are enjoying our lives together. We are both writing novels. I belong to a group that competes in the 48 Hour Film Project every year. I am involved in community groups. I enjoy building web pages. I enjoy photography and painting and gardening.
I wouldn’t mind having the physical fitness that I had in my fifties (my 5k time has really slowed since I hit 60) but I just have to face the fact that 68 is not 58. I work out at the Y, I run, I bike — I may take swim lessons so I can compete in triathlons next year. It’s all good, life is good.