It can be hard to feel satisfied with your life when facing certain challenges, but it’s not impossible. Research shows that a person’s satisfaction is more related to their personality rather than their life experiences.
Generally, people with higher salaries, a solid social status, and good health are more satisfied with their lives than those who earn less, lack strong social relationships, or have poor health, writes René Mõttus, the editor of the European Journal of Personality, in an article.
"But it is essential to understand that these factors are much weaker than many people think," he points out.
A meta-analysis conducted in 2020 to determine if there is a connection between major personality traits and life satisfaction showed that these traits aligned with greater life satisfaction, as reported by CNBC.
Thus, individuals who are more satisfied with life tend to be:
- emotionally stable;
- conscientious;
- extroverted;
- agreeable.
This year, Mõttus and other researchers decided to verify if the results would change when a person's personality traits are defined by how they define themselves and how they are described by close ones.
The results showed that, in addition to the main traits listed, people satisfied with their lives characterized themselves as understanding, enthusiastic, and determined. In contrast, less satisfied individuals tended to feel envious, bored, used, incapable, and unrewarded.
These findings indicate that the circumstances in our lives should not define our life satisfaction. Instead, you can improve your emotional stability, become more aware of your choices, and adopt other personality traits that lead to greater life satisfaction, the author concludes.
T.D.