Happy in your genes

My mother used to give me a sage piece of advice "you can't control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it." It's something I try to live by (though I often remind myself of that after I've already reacted a little less than gracefully). Maybe my mom was really on to something. Researchers have found that our genes play a large role in our happiness.

A Australian team composed of University of Edinburgh psychologists and researchers from Queensland Institute for Medical Research conducted a personality study using the Five-Factor Model. They found certain personality traits such as worry, gregariousness, and conscientiousness to be hereditary. People who are naturally friendlier, easy-going, and sociable tend to be happier overall. The cocktail of positive personality traits can act as a protective shield when bad things happen.

The study followed more than 900 pairs of twins, identifying common genes which result in certain characteristics. Environmental factors such as stress, relationships, jobs, and home life obviously have a big role in a person's mood. But certain hereditary personality traits can make some people able to fly through stressors a bit more easily.