Now You Can't (Entirely) Blame Your Parents If You're Unhappy

Michigan State researchers say they know what contributes to happiness. The good news: it's not all in your genes.

Happiness is ...

33% - 50% genetic 'base level;'
25% - 33% significant, life changing events, such as the death of someone close, or a new marriage;
25% - 33% life's 'background noise:' stress at work, traffic, and so on.

The good news is that base happiness is not 100% genetically determined. That belief has had, until now, widespread support. "This would mean that those who are happy now will also be happy in the future [and] those who are unhappy now will inevitably be unhappy in the future," MSU researcher Richard Lucas told Discovery News.

Do you feel happy that's not true?

On the downside, to be completely happy you'd have to be doing well in all three areas -- or have trained yourself to feel happy despite the work piling up on your desk.

The research, by Lucas and Brent Donnellan, looked at survey results for about 20,000 individuals in two earlier studies. Their work will be published in the Journal of Research in Personality.

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Sources:
Discovery News: "Genes and Fortune Determine Happiness"
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: "Happy Genes Give Us A Lift"