From a US perspective, but generally applicable to most major Western countries.
Don't get upset if the journey isn't complete. Be thankful the trip started well before you got on board the train.
- Gender bias and racial discrimination are significantly reduced. In 1900, 5% of women worked outside the home, homemakers worked 58 hours per week.
- You can talk to almost anyone, anytime, anywhere. In 1900, fewer than 10% of US homes had a telephone, and long distance charges applied.
- Cleaner air and cleaner water. In 1890, there were 3 million horses in American cities, each producing 20 pounds of manure every day. Today we have laws to limit air pollution, and we have cleaned up rivers, lakes and beaches.
- You have many safety nets. Social Security, federal insurance on bank deposits, auto safety regulations, workplace safety regulations. None of which existed in 1900.
- You don't have to live your whole life within 100 miles of where you were born. Travel has never been so inexpensive or available to more people. In 1900 it could require a multi-day excursion to travel 15 miles to a market town to purchase overpriced supplies with limited selection or choice.
- Time and money that had to be spent on food has decreased. In 1900, 40% of all workers were farm workers and on average people spent 24% of total income on food. Today less than 2% of all workers are farm workers and on average people spend 10% of total income on food.
- Your house is much more comfortable. In 1900, only 10% of houses had flush toilets, 3% had electricity, no refrigerators, no washing machines, and no A/C. Today over 99% of homes have all these amenities.
- Healthcare is much improved. Anesthesia, antibiotics, and immunizations save many lives. In 1900, 6 to 9 women died per every 1000 live births, almost one in every one hundred live births. Today that rate is one per every 10,000 live births. 100X improvement.
Using the 80/20 rule, we've captured the easiest 80% of gains already. The rest of the journey can focus on the remaining 20%.
Supporting data from following reference:
https://www.bostonfed.org/education/ledger/ledger05/sprsum/ten.pdf