Search Here

As children and even as young adults, most of us are confident or probably even overconfident of our aspirations. It's not until we reach our late twenties that we realize that the life we are living is very different from the one we had imagined to live or perhaps dreamed of living when we were younger.

A new research reveals that as young adults, although events in life such as getting married and having children may have seemed mundane to us, as we grow up, even those simple aspirations do not come true for many people.

The findings of a survey reveal that two in five people are not satisfied with their lives in terms of the expectations they had in their childhood. Many participants reported feeling that there are fewer options open to them than what they had hoped for.

One-third of the survey participants apparently admitted that they realized life was more expensive than they had imagined, making it difficult for them to work toward their goals.

Some of them also reported being "too busy" balancing the demands of their work and social lives to tackle other issues, a report in Mail Online said.

This suggests that events like marriage and children are now much delayed in life, a study by Barclays bank found.

It seems that 12 percent of marriages, 14 percent of childbirths and 15 percent of first home purchases are delayed much further in life than what we expected as children. Also, the expectation of starting a career and retiring were delayed by 21 percent and 26 percent, respectively.

However, the survey reveals that life does take a turn for the good in later stages. The survey involving 2,185 adults has shown that 26 percent of retired citizens report that life is better.

Even though not all the expectations in life may come true, 33 percent people still claim that life is different, but it is good, the reason being that they have had great experiences, met people and accomplished personal challenges, they said.

Fifty eight percent people quoted having children as being the key to a 'rich life,' followed by getting married, buying a home and securing a job.

"No matter what life stage I've been at, home and family have always been the foundations of a rich life. For me, there's nothing more important than spending time with my family at home. What's interesting to see is how my friends and people I know deal with things differently - because we are all different. Gone are the days of living life by the book and whatever the outcome we make things work," television presenter Kate Garraway, 45, who was involved in the research, was quoted as saying by Mail Online.

"The research shows we are all facing dilemmas in life, such as 'Can we afford to have a child?', 'Can I afford to buy a home?', 'When will I be able to retire?'," said Carole Layzell from Barclays, according to the report.