The happiest moments in life are the birth of a first child, your wedding day and the birth of grandchildren according to new research out today.
Online insurance company Beagle Street quizzed1,000 life expertsaged 70 or older about their happiest moments to mark the release of a new short film calledHappiest Moment, featuring some of the UK’s oldest couples passing on advice to the younger generation.
The research revealed that men are happiest at 40 whilst women hit their positive peak at 38 – citing being fit and healthy, having a great group of friends and feeling confident in their appearance as the main reasons for their bliss.
The findings show that loving relationships outweigh money and material gains with life’s top ten happiest moments dominated by friends and family. Other milestone moments that didn’t make the top ten included England winning the World Cup in 1966 and Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1969.
The top ten happiest life moments
- Birth of a first child (12.3 per cent of vote)
- Wedding day(11.5 per cent)
- Birth of grandchildren(10 per cent)
- Birth of another child(8.5 per cent)
- Day of retirement(7.4 per cent)
- Moving into a new home(6.7 per cent)
- Seeing your child’s first steps(5.5 per cent)
- Hearing your child’s first words(5.4 per cent)
- Meeting the man or woman of your dreams(4.5 per cent)
- First kiss with the man or woman of your dreams(4.4 per cent)
‘Never take the people you love for granted’was the top piece of advice the elderly wanted to pass onto the younger generation to help them live a happier life. Other pearls of wisdom included ‘believe in yourself’ and that ‘nothing worth having comes easy’.
Top ten pieces of advice to live a happier life
- Never take the people you love for granted
- Believe in yourself
- Remember what is important to you
- Nothing worth having comes easy
- Put your heart and soul into everything you do
- Don’t hold grudges
- Don’t be jealous of success
- Stop worrying and live in the moment
- Spend more time with your family
- Choose your friends wisely
58 per cent of respondents said they had no regrets in life. The most common cause for regret was choosing the wrong career and not pursuing lifelong dreams. One in ten of those with regrets wished they had worked harder in school with seven per cent regretting that they had not travelled the world.
Top five biggest regrets
- Choosing the wrong career(11 per cent)
- Not furthering education(10 per cent)
- Not travelling enough(7 per cent)
- Getting divorced(6 per cent of vote)
- Getting married too soon(5 per cent)
Matthew Gledhill, managing director of Beagle Street, comments:
“The overwhelming message from those with the most life experience is that the key to happiness is to worry less and live in the moment with the people you care about most. We commissioned Happiest Moment because we want our customers to be happy as it is scientifically proven that happier people live longer. As much as people look to the future and try to climb career ladders, the film and our research clearly show that happiness is linked much more heavily to relationships, friends and family than societal or monetary status.”
Happiest Momentwas filmed and produced by BAFTA-nominated Gary Tarn. It features Bournemouth couple Maurice and Helen Kaye aged 102 and 101 respectively who have been married for 80 years.
Watch theHappiest Moment videoon theBeagle Street YouTube Channel.
About the research:Independent research company Censuswide questioned 1,000 adults over the age of 70 in December 2014 from across the country.
Originally released:29thDecember 2014
