The present study explores the nature of Overcommitment (OC) in relation to Satisfaction With Life (SWL) in students. A total of 701 Norwegian students participated by answering a questionnaire including measurements of the previously validated instruments for OC and SWL, volunteer work, stress and several other individual differences. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a two-factor structure, where a positive and a negative subcomponent of OC are suggested. Furthermore, the fourteen items comprising the OC measure correlated positively and negatively with SWL in a manner corresponding to their loadings in the factor analysis. Both the original OC measure and the two subcomponents showed high internal reliability. Stress and volunteer work was also investigated as relevant influential variables. Stress showed a significant positive correlation with Negative OC, and a significant negative correlation with Positive OC. The relationship with volunteer work was more indistinct, but it did correlate significantly negatively with Positive OC. The widely accepted perception of OC as a purely negative trait is discussed. The implementation of a positive and a negative subcomponent of OC is suggested for future research.