Discover the Connection: How Do You Feel Happy?

Baltas Group

Have you ever thought about what influences our happiness? Many of us may feel as if we are far away from the life we envision. We may lack close relationships, a fulfilling job, an ideal home, or enough income to do the things we desire. But is it only these circumstances that determine our happiness and satisfaction with life?

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Tartu in Estonia have conducted new research that reveals striking results on how our personality traits shape our life satisfaction. Led by René Mõttus, the study highlights the important role that personality traits play in our quality of life, and suggests that efforts to change our life circumstances may not be as effective as we think. Mõttus illustrates this with an example that helps us understand this better: “You might think, 'Oh, if I publish these 10 articles and get this promotion, everything will be much better. But it probably won't,” he says. Instead, he adds, “You'll be happier if something more general changes within you.” So, he emphasizes that inner awareness and change can have a more meaningful impact on our life satisfaction beyond external achievements.

Which Personality Traits Lead to Happiness?

The study examined the life satisfaction and personality traits of more than 21,000 European and British adults. Participants, mostly Estonians living in Estonia or ethnic Russians, reported their satisfaction in various areas of their lives, such as work, health, relationships and finance. A comprehensive personality inventory (the Big Five) was then administered to analyze the participants' personalities in detail. In addition to measuring the extroversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism, agreeableness and openness to experience dimensions of the participants' personalities, the study also assessed other aspects of personality such as jealousy, competitiveness, loyalty, narcissism and spirituality. Mõttus and colleagues found that people who were less neurotic, more extroverted and more conscientious tended to be more satisfied with life in all areas, while agreeableness and openness to experience were barely related to life satisfaction.penness to experience were barely related to life satisfaction.

Furthermore, Mõttus analyzed the data in more detail and found that certain traits were much more strongly associated with life satisfaction than the Big Five (personality dimensions). People who are risk-takers, comfortable apologizing, loyal, loyal to family, respectful of authority, like to explore new places and strive for self-improvement are more satisfied with their lives, while people who tend to make enemies, lie, forget often and cry easily may have lower life satisfaction.

Binoculars of Contentment: Predicting Future Happiness

Another striking point in the research was that the life satisfaction of individuals could be predicted with 80% accuracy by looking at the scores of only 3 questions among the personality factors. These were questions measuring “how understood”, “how excited about life” and “how easily they can make decisions”. But of these, “feeling understood” was the strongest and most consistent predictor. “The most important thing you can recognize about someone with low life satisfaction is that they feel that other people don't understand them,” says Mõttus.

One of the other striking findings of the study is that the impact of our personality traits on life satisfaction persists over time. That is, even if a person's life satisfaction has changed slightly over time, it is possible to make fairly accurate predictions about that person's satisfaction today based on their personality traits 10 years ago. Mõttus explains it this way: “Whatever the link between personality and life satisfaction, it persists over time.” So, if we want to predict someone's life satisfaction 10 years from now, we can do so by looking at their current personality traits. This finding gives us a strong indication of how our personality traits shape our life satisfaction over time.

How to Regulate Internal Dynamics for Happiness

Personality traits tend to remain constant throughout life. This can be frustrating for some because our personalities also profoundly affect our happiness. It may be true that certain personality traits can reduce our satisfaction with whatever happens in life, but we should not forget that these traits also create certain protective factors for us. For example, although people with high levels of neuroticism often experience lower life satisfaction, this trait can make them more alert and prepared for difficult situations or tasks. This gives them the chance to take better measures to prevent potential failures. In addition, it is important for us to remember that getting the great job or relationship we want will not necessarily make us happier, and that bad things happening will not permanently undermine our happiness.

It is also possible for people to influence their life satisfaction through certain behaviors or practices and make it less dependent on their personality. For example, research has shown that many well-being practices (e.g. gratitude or self-compassion) can change people's life satisfaction without taking their personality type into account. To learn more about the concept of compassion, which enables people to do what cannot be done, supports the power of thought and emotion, and builds all-round confidence, you can read the “Compassion at Work” issue of our Resource Journal at the https://kaynakbaltas.com/dergiler/is-yerinde-sefkat/#flipbook-df_12248/1/ link.

Source

Suttie, J. (2024). How does your personality affect your happiness?. Greater Good. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_does_your_personality_affect_your_happiness