We all say we want happiness, but how many are willing to give what it takes to achieve it? Realizing that true happiness is a result of giving ? not of receiving - discourages many people from obtaining it for their own. They don?t want to make the personal sacrifices required to achieve it for themselves and consequently, all they can do is resent those who have found it. The biggest secret for finding happiness is to realize that disciplined determination on your part is required to acquire it.

Formulate your own goals, make the best life possible for yourself and get started on it immediately. It takes as much energy to be miserable as it does to be happy. Decide what makes you happy and don?t settle for anything less.

Sincerely happy people are different from anyone else ? as if they are gifted with some special trait that passed up the rest of humanity. The sincerely happy are vital, intelligent and healthier ? both mentally and physically. How is it that some people have this quality and others don't? The answer is simple: It's because they have simply chosen to be happy instead of constantly dwelling on negative thoughts.

Personal happiness depends on the attitude you have decided to have towards life, towards others and especially toward yourself. Appreciation of what we possess is vital to this element of happiness. When we stop being thankful, our entire emotional outlook suffers. Ingratitude is a very ugly disease.

Frustration and disappointments that ruin your peace of mind are usually over things that don?t matter in the first place. Most things aren?t worth getting upset over and learning to differentiate between the important things in life and the unimportant is a trait you must develop for yourself. How can you tell what is important and what is not? The next time you are tempted to get upset over something, ask yourself, "Is this something that is worth suffering emotional torment over?" You'll easily discover that 99% of things you usually allow yourself to fret over are not worthy of a second thought, much less ruining your day or losing sleep because of them.

The ability to forgive others is one of the most important survival skills you can cultivate. The most difficult aspect of this skill is forgiving yourself. It?s easy to forgive others because we rationalize on their behalf that they are just plain ignorant and don?t realize the impact of their behavior. Forgiving yourself isn?t as easy.

Why do we worry? We worry because of our own guilt playing up against our own higher-than-average standards. We worry because we think we don?t deserve happiness or God?s goodness to us. We don?t understand that he doesn?t see things the same way we do. He forgives us, so why can?t we forgive ourselves?

If a situation is meant to be, it?ll happen and nothing can keep it from happening. If it?s not meant to happen, it won?t. When things don?t go the way you would like them to, perhaps you are being spared a lot of misery and frustration in the long run. God knows what he?s doing.

Never waste time and energy worrying. Tell yourself everything is working out for the best and revive your own happiness. Then take a nap and sleep it off. Sleep heals anxiety, depression and can cure a lot of other negative factors.

The more serious a problem seems today, the more potential it will have to look back on and laugh about tomorrow. It?s there ? look for it.

Sometimes all you need is a change in routine. Boredom invariably leads to mental distress and a simple diversion may be all you need. Find something to look forward to. Help others. Lend a hand wherever needed. You help yourself in the process.

View each day as a new beginning, looking forward to the happiness that waits. Plan to turn every negative situation into an asset and always be on the lookout for things in your daily life that strike you as funny. Laughter is nature?s stress reliever. Laughter heals.

The busier you are, the less time you have to concentrate on the past and the happier you?ll feel about the future.