Scientists find 5 life skills which bring success

The five life skills which bring health, wealth and success throughout life have been discovered by scientists.

Experts at University College London have found that emotional stability, determination, control, optimism and conscientiousness are the foundation stones of building a fruitful life.

People in their 50s and 60s who scored highly in at least four of the five attributes were generally wealthier, less depressed, healthy and connected to a large social circle. In contrast those who achieved two or fewer of the skills were often lonely, depressed and were far more likely to suffer from chronic diseases.

“It is well recognized that some highly intelligent people or those who come from privileged backgrounds may not succeed because they lack character strengths, whereas less well-endowed individuals who are reliable and selfdisciplined do attain their goals,” said Professor Andrew Steptoe of the department of Epidemiology and Public Health, who co-led the research.

“No single attribute was more important than others. Rather, the effects depended on the accumulation of life skills.

“We were surprised by the range of processes — economic, social, psychological, biological, and health and disability related — that seem to be related to these life skills.”

To find out the impact of key life skills, the team from UCL looked at data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing which has followed more than 8,000 middle-aged Britons for the past 11 years.

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