I found this graph interesting.
The graph shows what, will happen to most of us, regardless of our thoughts and biases.
This is US data, but I would not bet against it being accurate for the UK.
The picture is clear, life is always on the move, there is no “same as it always was”.
What stands out to me is that time with friends and family falls in our mid 20s as partners and work come on the scene.
That is early on, isn’t it?
Do we take for granted the time we have with friends and family in our early lives?
Should we pay more attention to make those times feel better?
I also see being alone is always the largest part of our days.
And it more than doubles from about 4 hours p/d aged 40 to 8 hours p/d at 80.
My feeling is that very few people properly prepare themselves for this and get comfortable with it.
On the other hand, being with your partner, is stable from age 30.
But if that goes, it would leave a large hole.
Does this make independence in a relationship more important than interdependence?
Time with children is the biggest up and down.
It peaks at age 30-40 at about 4 hours p/d and then drops to less than an hour a day from about 60.
That is quite a shock to the system too.
This is very much on my mind – my boys are 7 and 9.
In a blink of an eye, they will be 17 and 19. Then what?
What stands out to you?
Unless we are emotionally and financially prepared for that, are we making a rod for our own backs?
That is why well-being is such an important part of what we do at TCFP.
Money, made human.