A new British study has shed more light on the genes/personality contribution to happiness. Genes may contribute up to 50% of the variance in happiness, and the new research suggests this genetic influence on happiness is essentially conveyed via personality. Researchers using a representative sample of 973 twin pairs found that the heritable differences in… Continue reading Born happy? The link between happiness, personality and genes
Category: 101 Happiness Strategies
Series
How to be happy – 14. Concentrate on intentional factors
Lesson: A happiness model Although positive psychology and well-being research have flourished, there’s no agreed-upon theory of happiness. But a model has been suggested, quite recently in fact, and it’s based on 3 factors (1). 1. Circumstances and demographics – like health, finances and marital status 2. Personality and genes – the ‘innate’ aspects of… Continue reading How to be happy – 14. Concentrate on intentional factors
How to be happy – 13. Act like you’re an extravert – even if you aren’t
Lesson: We can learn from happy extraverts and happy introverts We saw in Strategy 12 that introverted people tend to be less happy than their extraverted counterparts. But before you anti-social butterflies throw up your wings in despair and head for the nearest net, let me share some nuggets of evidence that the extraversion-happiness link… Continue reading How to be happy – 13. Act like you’re an extravert – even if you aren’t
How to be happy – 12. Make peace with your personality
Lesson: Not all personalities are created equally happy In Strategy 11 we saw there’s evidence that genes link to happiness via personality – which has a moderate-to-strong genetic component, emerges early, and stays stable-ish through life. Psychologists believe personality can, to some extent, be reflected by 5 traits: agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism. These… Continue reading How to be happy – 12. Make peace with your personality
How to be happy – 11. Focus on what you can do to be happier
Lesson: Some people are born happier than others Is happiness genetic? Partly, yes. Twin studies suggest that genes could explain 38% (1) to 44-52% (2) of happiness variance. Other researchers think these figures leave out important considerations, and that perhaps 25% of our potential for happiness may be related to genes (3). That means your… Continue reading How to be happy – 11. Focus on what you can do to be happier
How to be happy – 10. Don’t keep up with the Joneses
Lesson: Money changes everything – except happiness Strategy 8 highlighted the small contribution of external life conditions to happiness, and Strategy 9 showed that changes to these conditions only make a short-term difference – we adapt and our happiness levels are soon restored. Since for most of us money is one of the most important… Continue reading How to be happy – 10. Don’t keep up with the Joneses
How to be happy – 9. Get off the hedonic treadmill
Lesson: We adapt quickly to the good and the bad We saw in Strategy 8 that, outside extreme stress or deprivation, circumstances add little to happiness. But what about changing those circumstances – wouldn’t getting a different job, winning the lottery or moving to a new state make us happier? The research might surprise you.… Continue reading How to be happy – 9. Get off the hedonic treadmill
How to be happy – 8. Make happiness an inside job
Lesson: Externals don’t have a big impact on happiness You might think the happiest people are the ones with great life conditions – money, health, youth and a good marriage. But researchers have used statistical techniques to quantify how much circumstances contribute to happiness, and their findings tell a different story. Here’s what they’ve found:… Continue reading How to be happy – 8. Make happiness an inside job
How to be happy – 7. Don’t just ease the bad, boost the good too
Lesson: Happiness isn’t the opposite of depression Before the growth of positive psychology, psychologists were mainly concerned with problems. Research focused on understanding what caused difficulties like depression, and on alleviating them. It was thought easing depression would bring about – well, happiness. But newer research has shown that understanding what leads to depression doesn’t… Continue reading How to be happy – 7. Don’t just ease the bad, boost the good too
How to be happy – 6. Make happiness a goal
Lesson: A review of happiness perks By now you probably need no more convincing that being happy is a good thing. We’ve seen how happiness supports your health, how happiness comes before, and sometimes causes, many other benefits, and how happiness is good for people around you, too. Before moving on to new research lessons… Continue reading How to be happy – 6. Make happiness a goal