"Feeling Greater Well-Being": Here’s the Key to Happiness Too Often Overlooked, According to Researchers

"Feeling Greater Well-Being": Here’s the Key to Happiness Too Often Overlooked, According to Researchers

While the leading experts on happiness often highlight personal relationships or lifestyle choices, a more specific and often forgotten aspect could help us be happier.

Although we frequently hear that it takes little to be happy, we must admit that numerous studies on the subject lead us to think otherwise. The longest study on happiness conducted by researchers at Harvard, for example, emphasizes qualitative and satisfying personal relationships. In parallel, other studies suggest that getting enough sleep, exercising, leading a meaningful life, following personal values, or practicing letting go are all factors to consider, which sometimes gives the impression that happiness is unattainable. However, a new study has pinpointed an essential element of relationships that directly contributes to our happiness and vice versa.

Cultivating Trust to Be Happy

The study published in Psychological Bulletin focused on the link between happiness and trust. To do so, researchers compiled a series of studies on the subject to analyze the results. In total, the information from 2.5 million participants was examined. The trust of participants was studied based on several factors, such as age, culture, or the type of trust, particularly towards people, certain relationships, or institutions.

In parallel, several aspects of well-being, such as life satisfaction and emotional health, were taken into account. The results showed that participants who trusted more were also happier and more satisfied.

Constantly questioning whether the people or systems around you will let you down can be very burdensome, comments psychologist Mark Travers for Psychology Today.

"This can be heavy, as it creates a background noise that weighs on your well-being," he adds. Thus, trust plays a crucial role. It reduces the weight of doubt. When you can trust, you do not live in constant suspicion, which creates a space for joy."

The Virtuous Circle of Trust and Happiness

If freeing oneself from a climate of perpetual suspicion allows for greater happiness, the reverse is also true. "Feeling greater well-being transforms our relationship with the world. Indeed, moments of happiness have the power to make us more open and willing to give others the benefit of the doubt," comments Mark Travers. In this way, being happier fosters a state of trust.

The study indeed reveals that well-being predicts higher levels of trust. Those who report being happier are also more likely to trust individuals, communities, and institutions. In this way, trust and happiness maintain a virtuous circle. "Feeling good encourages you to open up more; opening up strengthens bonds, and these stronger bonds contribute to a renewed sense of well-being," summarizes the psychologist.