Santa Clara University

People get happier as they grow older. Or if not happier, why don't things bother them anymore?

Jerrold Shapiro, Ph.D. believe that as most people age, they become much more accepting of themselves. They also become more empathetic to others.

So what gives? If we are so gloomy, why do we sometimes seem so chipper? Well, when Pew surveyed more than 2,400 adults in 2008, it did find a lot of discontent, but that was when it asked people to do things like compare their standard of living with that of their parents or talk about keeping up with the cost of living.

When it comes to day-to-day irritants, it is often another matter, said Dr. Shapiro, who interviewed more than 200 baby boomers for his book “Finding Meaning, Facing Fears in the Autumn of Your Years.” “People seemed to be less aggravated by minor setbacks,” he said, “for example by not being able to get their kids to do something at a certain time.”

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