Happiness! There isn’t a single human being who doesn’t want to be happy, and for many, it is the primary pursuit in life. While happiness is defined by the individual, I’ve always felt it foolish to declare that nothing can be learned from observing the happiness of others. In order to find true happiness in life, you need to work on yourself and make a few adjustments to the way you live your life. But inspiration can be the goal, not rigid rules on being happy.

Its all in your own hands… how happy you remain on your journey is truly entirely up to you.

Remember childhood, before you were trained to be “happy & responsible?” Exercising your imagination muscle will generate creative ideas, motivate you, and make you happier if you use it well. Happiness is a perspective, and using your imagination is an effective way to alter your perspective to your liking.

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Here are ten steps to reversing this pattern and becoming a happy person others trust and want to be around.

Identify your source of unhappiness via asking yourself:

“What’s making me feel unhappy?“. The answers can be very revealing. If you’re someone who has never questioned your emotions/unhappiness before, this will point you in the right direction, because rather than take your emotions as they are, you’re now making an effort to understand them. If you are a conscious individual, with high awareness of your emotions, this will bring you a step further.
Fix the issue right away. No point waiting. The longer you wait, the more unhappy you are.

Take Action on What’s Making You Unhappy:

I’d say I’m by and large quite a happy person. It’s not because I don’t feel unhappy emotions. Like everyone, there are times when I’m unhappy. There are times when I’m angry too. And there are times when I can be downright miserable.
What do I do during these times? Do I let myself sink in the negative emotion? No, I don’t. That’s pointless and a waste of my mental energy.

What I do is this – Whenever there is something making me unhappy, I fix the issue right away, in a 3-step approach. Firstly, I identify the issue at hand. Secondly, I locate the action steps that will resolve it. Then, I execute those steps immediately.
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• The Key To Being Happy? Stop Looking For Happiness 
• The Emotional Scale - How to Deliberately Feel Happier

Choose to let go when you know you should:

Sometimes you have to be strong for yourself.  Love is worth fighting for, but you can’t be the only one fighting.  People need to fight for you too.  If they don’t, you eventually have to move on and realize that what you gave them was more than they were willing to give you.  Some relationships and situations just can’t be fixed.  If you try to force them back together, things will only get worse.  Holding on is being brave, but letting go and moving on is often what makes us stronger and happier.

The Power of a Smile:

See how smiling can change your life and change the world too. Smiling is such a key ingredient for establishing healthy and genuine friendships. When someone is smiling at you it indicates that they like you. When someone likes you what do you think of them? Yep, normally you’re thinking “wow, I like this person!” Smiling also offers encouragement to the person that you are talking to. Think about it, if someone is smiling at you while you are talking to them, you feel as though they are totally into what you are saying, encouraging you to keep going!

Smiling is crucial when it comes to first impressions. Smiling when you first meet someone will indicate to the other person that you are genuinely happy to see them and that you are a positive person. These impressions will be lasting on the other person so definitely not one to miss!

Choose to be the best YOU can be: 

Give it your all in everything you do, commit to your goals, and don’t compare yourself to anyone else.  John Wooden once said, “Success and happiness is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”  Never try to be better than anyone else, but never stop trying to be the best you can be.  If you feel called to compare yourself to someone, compare yourself to an earlier version of yourself. 
Recommended:

• 15 Things You Must Give Up To Be Happy & Happier
• Five Steps to Finding Happiness at Work

All You Need is Love:

It may sound cliché, but love truly does make the world go ‘round.
“Find ways to get more love in your life,” Alexandre says. “Make time in your schedule to see the people you love. Play with a child, hug your friends, tell someone you love them, and smile at someone you don’t know. These small gestures can make a big difference."

Personal Development:

Learning how to live a happy life is about learning how you work. It is up to you to take control of your own being.
By that I mean your thoughts, your health, and the path you are on.
You’re reading this article for a reason. You are here because your heart resonates with what I’m writing.
You know that what I’m saying is true. You can go after your dreams and you can make a living doing what you want, if you would just make the decision to do so.

If you truly want to supercharge your progress, focus on becoming better. The way I do this is by listening to personal development audio programs, attending seminars, and reading as many books as I can get my hands on.

The more information you have on what it takes to live a happy life, and the more you apply those principles, the happier you will be.
It really doesn’t get any harder than that. Learning how to live a happy life almost happens by itself when you make the decision that you are going to be happy.
Recommended:

• 20 Incredibly-Simple Ways to Be Happier 
• 7 Small Habits That Will Steal Your Happiness

Decide to change: 

Complaining is a habit. And like all bad habits, change begins when you own your behavior and make a decision to change. It doesn’t have to be a long, drawn out process. It will take conscious effort at first, but it will become automatic over time. You can start today.

Become self-aware:

Are you a negative person? Do you tend to see the glass half empty or half full? If you are in doubt, ask your spouse or a close friend for candid feedback. Negativity is costing you more than you know. Frankly, it’s like having bad breath or b.o.
Recommended:

• The Secret to Healing is Forgiveness
• How to be Happy: The First Ten Keys to Happiness

True happiness is the realization of such goals:

Once you manage to fulfill ALL the important life goals that stem from your major unmet needs then you will be one of the happiest persons on the planet. Most people understood happiness incorrectly when they tried to put a general rule for it forgetting that each and every person has his own unmet needs that need to be fulfilled in a different way in order for him to be really happy.

Don’t be someone the people can walk all over, set boundaries and say no when needed. But recognize that unnecessary conflicts just waste your time and energy. There are more fun and good things to spend time on in your life. So try to reach an understanding. 

“If you don’t have something positive to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Editors Note: By actively going outside of what is normal for you or your comfort zone you’ll discover new, wonderful things in life quite often. This will bring happiness into your life and if you develop this habit then in my experience it will be easier to move outside of your comfort zone in bigger ways too.