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The No. 1 key to a happier, longer life—’that younger people don’t’ know, according to the oldest and ‘wisest’ Americans

I once interviewed Karl Pillemer, the Cornell sociologist and author of “30 Lessons for Living: Tired and True Advice from the Wisest Americans.” He’d seen numerous studies showing that people in their 70s, 80s, and beyond were far happier than younger people.He was intrigued: “I keep meeting older people — many of whom had lost loved ones, been through tremendous difficulties, and had serious health problems — but who nevertheless were deeply fulfilled and enjoying life. I found myself asking: ‘What’s that all about?’”It occurred to him that maybe they see and understand things that younger people don’t. But to Pillemer’s surprise, no one had conducted a study on what practical advice older people had for the next generations.That set him off a seven-year quest.Their No. 1 lesson for a longer, happier life: Time is finite, don’t spend it regretting things”The older the respondent,” Pillemer found, “the more likely [they were] to say that life passes by in what seems like an instant.”W…