From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life

In Chapter 7, Brooks discusses the transitions people have through different life stages as taught by the Indian philosophy of ashramas. The term ashrama refers to the various life stages, each of which has a specific term of its own. Brooks is interested in the third stage, during which people turn toward a spiritual life beginning in middle age. (See vanaprastha below.)

Psychologists use this term to describe the love between partners in which they are each other’s best friend as well as lover. It is based on more than passion, namely things like “stable affection, mutual understanding, and commitment” (125). Compassionate love transcends normal friendship because of the long-term commitment involved. Notably, it is this type of love that leads to satisfaction and happiness.

Cattell coined this term to describe the kind of intelligence people have when they are older. Instead of new ideas and creativity, crystallized intelligence represents the store of intelligence already accumulated. Similar to wisdom, it is associated with knowledge rather than raw facts and information. This kind of intelligence increases with age and, if it diminishes at all, it does so quite late in life. Brooks sees crystallized intelligence as key to what he calls the second curve. For comparison, see fluid intelligence below.

Scholars use this term for the type of happiness that entails having purpose. It refers to well-being through reaching one’s potential. Brooks argues that we need both this and hedonia (see below) in life, which results in the sense of life being interesting.

This is the second kind of intelligence identified by Cattell, and represents that possessed by younger adults. Up until middle age, people tend to rely on fluid intelligence, which uses reason, new and abstract ideas, and fluid connections. In short, it’s how a young, nimble mind works for professionals at the top of their game. Brooks argues that this kind of intelligence drops off in middle age as creativity and productivity decline. For comparison, see crystallized intelligence above.

This type of happiness refers to pleasure and feeling good. It comes from a Greek root meaning “pleasure.” Brooks argues that one needs both hedonia and eudaimonia, and that the two combined result in the sense of life being interesting.

Social scientists use this term to refer to the theory that people maintain a certain level of happiness throughout their lives. When a new event provides a rush of pleasure or satisfaction, it is temporary, and things soon return to a level of stasis. Thus, people work to attain something else, and again the rush is impermanent, creating a cycle. For instance, if someone gets a raise at work and uses it to buy a new car, they won’t be satisfied for long. They may continue accumulating things but don’t feel happier or more successful.

Psychologists use this term to refer to changes in life, when one is between roles and relationships, leading to a potentially uncomfortable transition. A significant change occurs to shake people from the comfortable view they have of their identity. It could be a career change, a serious illness, a divorce, or any other life-changing event.

This is the term for a meditation practiced by Theravada Buddhist monks, or those belonging to the older school of Buddhism, in Sri Lanka and Thailand. The monks contemplate not just their death but the physical decomposition of their bodies. There are nine steps to the meditation, each representing a more advanced degree of decomposition. The purpose is to keep the monks mindful of death and the impermanence of everything.

Brooks proposes similarly meditating on the decline of one’s skills and competence in professional life as a way of getting used to the idea.

Early in the book, Brooks introduces two graphs. The first shows productivity plotted against the number of years in a career. This peaks about 20 years into a career and then declines. The second graph plots Cattell’s two kinds of intelligence against age. Fluid intelligence rises and falls roughly on par with productivity in the first graph. Crystallized intelligence starts a little later in life and rises until close to the end. This is what Brooks calls the second curve, which represents a way to stay active and useful later in life if one is willing to switch gears. Brooks explores why and how to do just that.