The secret to a happy life?
A new study from NTNU suggests a link between several personality traits and how people feel about their lives.
“People who are determined, passionate and have belief in their ability to improve, appear to be more likely to flourish and experience meaningful and engaging lives,” says Professor Hermundur Sigmundsson at NTNU’s Department of Psychology.
Together with Professor Håvard Lorås at the Department of Teacher Education, Sigmundsson investigated the the personality traits of tenacity (‘grit’), believing in oneself (‘growth mindset’) and motivation (‘passion’), and how these are associated with quality of life and well-being.
- You might also like: How to limit the after-effects of a disappointing summer
Motivation and well-being
A total of 585 people completed a survey. The results show that grit, growth mindset and passion are interconnected. These motivational factors were all shown to be associated with a sense of direction, leading to lives which flourish and have meaning.
“Grit and passion were particularly strongly associated with well-being, while a growth mindset had a distinct association with flourishing,” says Lorås.
Overall, personal motivation was strongly associated with general well-being.
- You might also like: Girls thrive most at school – and there are good reasons why
Living the good life?
It is important to note that this study looked at people’s perceived quality of life and well-being. The results do not necessarily reflect the participants’ objective circumstances.
“Our study cannot establish that motivation directly leads to a better quality of life. We only studied these people at one point in time and did not examine how they developed over time,” says Sigmundsson.
The sample was also predominantly Norwegian and included considerably more women than men (363 compared with 222). Both cultural and gender differences could therefore play a role.
“We need longer-term and experimental studies to determine whether these traits actually lead to a better quality of life,” Lorås concludes.
Reference: Sigmundsson H and Lorås H (2026) Motivation and well-being: exploring the relationships. Front. Educ. 11:1891860. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2026.1891860
