One of the most quoted rules of happiness is the 50-40-10 rule. This knowledge about happiness states that 50% of our happiness is determined by genetics, 10% by our circumstances and 40% by our internal state of mind.
Your genes make up an estimated 40% of your ability to be happy, says psychotherapist Susan Zinn of Susan Zinn Therapy. But that doesn't mean that if you weren't born with certain genes, you're destined to be unhappy.
If you've read a book or listened to a talk about happiness in the past 15 years, there's a good chance you heard that 50 percent of our happiness is determined by our genes, 40 percent by our activities, and 10 percent by our life circumstances.
Science tells us that between 30 and 40% of our happiness is genetic, so the rest is up to us and how we lead our lives. Research into the genetics behind happiness uses twin studies and genome comparison and looks for associations with individual genes.
With that 40% we already possess the tools necessary to be our own personal game changers. Although we don't have control over genetics and life circumstances, the third factor, intentional activity, is arguably the most hopeful and promising means for altering our perspectives and life.
The Three Keys to Happiness
Scientists have found that the three things that make people most happy are PLEASURE (doing things you enjoy), ENGAGEMENT (feeling interested in your activities and connected to others), and MEANING (feeling like what you do matters).
There are three keys to a happy life: relationships, authenticity, and purpose. Having deep connections with others is among the most important factors that contribute to overall happiness and well-being, according to a long-running study.
In one large study from the Brookings Institute, for example, scientists found happiness was high for 18- to 21-year-olds and then dropped steadily until about age 40. But past middle age, the pattern began to reverse—gradually climbing back up to its highest point at age 98!
The most unhappy time of your life is your forties, according to a phenomenon known as the “u-shaped” curve which states that happiness bottoms out around your forties then trends back up as you grow older.
You receive 50% of your genes from each of your parents, but the percentages of DNA you received from ancestors at the grandparent level and further back are not necessarily neatly divided in two with each generation.
The most successful people who also maintain their happiness and good relations with other people clearly said that they spend 60% of their time on what we would call needle moving activities, and 40% of the time they're human, just like us.
Rule #4 – Follow Your Bliss
In life, we often find ourselves half-way up a ladder we don't want to climb, rather than at the bottom of one we do. What do you really want to be? Follow your own bliss – and be happy.
In John 13:17 we find the principle that so many are seeking: “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” Put simply, this verse means that we will be happy if we know the will of God and then do it. This is essentially a Biblical formula for happiness.
Heritability is probably 40-50%, and might be higher for severe depression. This could mean that in most cases of depression, around 50% of the cause is genetic, and around 50% is unrelated to genes (psychological or physical factors).
30-40% of the differences in happiness between people is accounted for by genetic differences between people.
Scientists estimate that 20 to 60 percent of temperament is determined by genetics. Temperament, however, does not have a clear pattern of inheritance and there are not specific genes that confer specific temperamental traits.
Starting at age 18, your happiness level begins to decrease, reaching peak unhappiness at 47.2 in developed countries and 48.2 in developing countries. The good news is that happiness levels then gradually increase.
According to researchers, certain psychological issues — such as hopelessness, unhappiness, and loneliness — increase a person's biological age more than smoking.
Looking first at self-reports of ongoing stress, we found that people experience a sharp increase in stress levels in their late twenties and early thirties. Stress levels increase more moderately during the thirties and forties, remain steady for about 20 years, and then drop sharply as retirement comes around.
When is our physical peak? The physical peak age is the point in your life when your reproductive system, motor abilities, strength, and lung capacity are in optimal condition – this generally occurs between 30 and 40 years of age.
Academics have found increasing evidence that happiness through adulthood is U-shaped – life satisfaction falls in our 20s and 30s, then hits a trough in our late 40s before increasing until our 80s.
At the moment the sperm cell of the human male meets the ovum of the female and the union results in a fertilized ovum (zygote), a new life has begun.... The term embryo covers the several stages of early development from conception to the ninth or tenth week of life."
researched in an effort to disseminate specific information. Seligman has identified five elements that are important for happiness- positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and achievement. The acronym for these elements, PERMA, is the term that they are most often referred to.