Happiness.

We all want to be happy. But for many of us, happiness is an elusive, fleeting state that we can capture only for a brief moment, before it floats away like dust in the wind.

The truth is that as human beings, almost all of our forward momentum is driven by the pursuit of happiness. Even the desire to socialize, to love, and to connect with other human beings is driven by our desire to be happy. The pursuit of better jobs, higher status, more wealth – the root of everything we’re chasing is happiness. This certainly doesn’t mean that everything we chase WILL bring us happiness. In fact, a big part of our struggle with life is figuring out what makes us happy, and perhaps more importantly, what makes us consistently happy.

If you want to be happy, be.We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. It usually isn’t what you have, where you are, or what you’ve been through that makes you happy or unhappy, it’s how you think about it all. It starts on the inside. You control your thoughts. The only person who can hurt your happiness in the long run is YOU.

It only takes one person to make you happy and change your life: YOU. Your life will improve only when you take small chances, and the first and most difficult chance you can take is to be honest with yourself. Stop focusing on how stressed you are and remember how blessed you are. It could be so much worse. It is not what happens to you, but how you respond to what happens to you. Count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles. Look for something positive about this moment. Even if you have to look a little harder than usual, it still exists. When you smile about the life you live, you end up living a life worth smiling about.

Remember, social comparison is the thief of happiness. You could spend a lifetime worrying about what others have, but it wouldn’t get you anything. Live simply. Love generously. Speak truthfully. Breathe deeply. Do your best. Leave everything else to the powers above you. Do not dwell so much on creating your perfect life that you forget to live. The trick is to enjoy your life today. Don’t wish it away by waiting for better days ahead. Pay attention to the little things, because when you really miss “the good old days,” you miss the little things the most, like just laughing with someone special. Go for long walks. Indulge in great conversations. Pay attention to the moment. Count your blessings. Let go for a little while and just be and breathe.

I’m a big believer that if you find happiness, then success will follow. Happiness encourages good life decisions, bolsters wonderful relationships, and opens up doors to great opportunities.Sometimes we need a little push and reminder that things are not so bad in our lives, and we have the ability to make ourselves happy. We control our mood and our outlook, and sometimes we just need a little extra help to be content and happy.