Remembering the good times and forgetting the bad are the keys to happiness.

Researchers at the San Francisco State University studied the personality traits and the relative happiness levels of 750 student volunteers.  They found that people who can look to the past with nostalgia had higher life satisfaction than those who exaggerate or mull over their failures.  Extrovert people are happier and people high on the neurotic scale are less happy.

The study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences recognised that changing your personality is difficult but people may be able to alter their view of time and boost happiness by “savouring” happy memories and “reframing” painful experiences.

Written exclusively for The Life Insurance Department 4 May 2011.