Mark Travers Ph.D. reviewed by Gary Drevitch

Publishers note: Hello everyone, here is a quick blog that talks about reflection of our past and what some people might have or have not regret of what they did or did not do. At first automatic thought I have many regrets but to disregard those moments or wish that I chose the latter or not do anything at all ( if I had a time machine) would wipe out the the things I have now. If I did not serve in the US Navy I would not have gone to school for free, own a house, and have the opportunity to retire. If certain moments at my full time job in 2014 did not happen I would be with the wrong person and have a crippling alcohol problem ( assuming nothing changed in my life at that snapshot of my life). Those moments are not regrets, they are blessings that have helped me become sober and on the road to substance and mental health recovery. Thank you

The start of a new year can evoke feelings of aging and loss. But there’s an easy way to reframe this negative attitude: Assume that you will be happier in the next year than in the last. In fact, there’s a good amount of scientific research to back this up. Recent research published in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Science found optimism to be lowest in people’s 20s, then to rise steadily into our 30s and 40s, peaking in the 50s, and gradually declining after that. Specifically, it was at age 55 that people experienced the highest levels of optimism.

Another study found that life satisfaction showed little decline across the lifespan and, in some cases, it actually went up. For instance, the researchers found that in the Anglo world (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States), life satisfaction tends to improve with age. They also found that both marriage and employment are associated with higher levels of life satisfaction across the lifespan.