Happiness or not is due to genes

A new study explains why some people feel dissatisfied despite having a prosperous life, while others are optimistic even in bad circumstances.

The study also supports a previous hypothesis that trying to be more happy is as useless as finding a higher way, because it has been previously prescribed by the gene.

" Many psychologists believe that happiness has been predetermined by genetics and innate characteristics ," said study author Richard Lucas at the University of Michigan. "That means those who are happy now are happy later, and those who now feel bored in the future are not better."

Dr. M Brent Donnellan said that a gene makes up one-third to half of a person's ability to feel satisfied or not. The remaining factors include events in life, such as winning a jackpot or the death of a loved one, and daily fluctuations such as work stress, traffic congestion.

(Photo: snoozeandtell) Researchers collected data from two previous studies, in which participants assessed the level of satisfaction with their lives within 11 years.

The tendency for satisfaction and happiness becomes stable over time. Everyone has a level of happiness in which they perceive things in a certain way. But this level also fluctuates over a long period of time under the impact of major events.

"For example, a person who got married in 1990 will increase the level of happiness that year. This increase will last for 1-2 years, but by 1993, this effect vanished and brought them back. re-level the original happiness, or jump to a new level by another event, " Lucas explained.

Daily events also affect feelings of satisfaction in a short period. David Myers, a professor of psychology at Hope University in Michigan, likened the fun to cholesterol."Both are regulated by genes and are quite stable, but are affected by lifestyle."

Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist at the University of California at Riverside, agrees that we have little control over happiness."About one-third of our happiness is irreversible and is regulated by the gene. One third is due to events in life such as marriage, job loss, and the other 1/3 are events. happens daily as work pressure, weather and environment ".

MT