As we enter the second half of life, the path to genuine happiness can shift dramatically. According to researcher Arthur Brooks, the key isn’t acquiring more—but rather subtracting our unnecessary desires. He observes: “What happy, successful people do in the second half of their lives is they go from adding to subtracting.” This runs counter to the usual script of chasing more money, more power, more pleasure.
Brooks urges us to assess our wants: less about prestige, more about meaning. He proposes an exercise: review your major goals and ask yourself whether they would matter if no one else knew you achieved them. If the answer is “no,” perhaps the goal isn’t rooted in purpose but in external validation.
He also highlights a shift many subjects make—from striving for status to serving others. In research on mid-life satisfaction, those who moved from ambition for prestige to ambition for service reported higher purpose and stronger relationships over time. Brooks emphasizes gratitude: recognising what we already have helps make joy more enduring.
In short, the secret isn’t found in chasing more—but in wanting less, caring more deeply, and redefining success as contribution rather than accumulation.
