That’s how many years it takes to reach “Peak Misery” according to a study done by the National Bureau of Economic Research as reported by Morning Brew a few hours ago.
For many of us who have apparently bagged that ‘peak’--and who are willing to be considered ‘average’--that’s great news, but it creates a few questions before heading online to find any answers.
First, how was the term "misery" defined in the study? Is this word ‘misery’ just a marketing department spin on a cobbled together combination of various signs depression? Second, and maybe more importantly, how was it decided that "peak misery" should be studied and to what end?
In the spirit of my confirmation bias towards believing that everything created and published by people other than artists is done for a reason, maybe this was just a click bait study with a catchy word in it to lure curious people to click on the bureau site see what other studies they were conducting.
That is exactly what it did for me. I’ve added the bureau link to my bookmarks for weekend reading. I'm not sure what I will find there or whether I’ll feel more or less miserable for it, but based on the 47.2 soundbite I do know that life ‘should‘ be trending for the better from this point forward.