The only guide to happiness you'll ever need

"The Constitution guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness you have to catch it yourself." -. Benjamin FranklinFor some of us, the ultimate goal in life is happiness.If we see the completion of our work, the satisfaction of our relationship, passion in our leisure ... we strive to find happiness."Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence." - Aristotle 
Yet the pursuit of happiness can be a permanent quest, especially if you look at happiness as something that will come once you achieve certain goals - a good house, a perfect woman, promotion last ... and when we have these goals, instead of being happy, sometimes want to be happy when we achieve our future goals.Happiness should not be something that happens to us in the future, maybe one day, if things go well. Happiness is here and now, we are now, with the people we are now doing things that we do now. And if we have people who make us happy, and do things that make us happy ... then we must take steps to get there.This is the simple formula for happiness. Take steps to do things that make you happy, with people who make you happy, and be happy with the person you are today. (Warning:. This is probably what does not apply, of course, to those who are clinically depressed or have other medical conditions like, I'm not qualified to speak) 
Do not wait for happiness. Grasp."If you want to be happy, be." - Leo TolstoyIt is in this way - a list of steps you can take today to enjoy this happiness. You do not have to do it once, but to do most (if not all) of them eventually, sooner rather than later. Choose one or two and get started today. 
1.  Be. present Do not think about how great things will be in the future. Do not dwell on what has or has not occurred in the past. Learning to be in the here and now, and experience life as it happens, and enjoy the beauty of the world is right now. Practice makes perfect with this essential skill.

2.  Attach with others. In my experience, very little can achieve happiness and connection with other human beings, cultivate relationships, union with others. Some tips on how to do it.

3.  Spend time with loved ones. It may sound almost the same as above, and is an extension of the same concept, a specific application. Spend time with your family is very important for happiness ... and yet it is amazing how often do the exact opposite, and spend time alone or disconnected from those we love, or spend time with people who do not like much. Make it a priority to schedule time with people you love. Make sure that the most important element of the day. As for me, I have a moment when I cut my work, and the rest of the day for my family. Weekends are for my family. And apart from this holy time, I make sure to let my happiness is nothing between me and the people I love.

4.  Do things you love. What do you like doing most? Find 4-5 things that you enjoy doing the most in life, things that make you happy and make people the foundation of your day, every day. Remove most of the other as possible. For me, the things I like to do are: spend time with my family, writing, reading and running. I do these things every day, and very little. It may take some time to get your life back to its essential elements I (I took a couple of years away and careful reprogramming and say "no" to requests that are not on my list of favorites ), but it is worth the effort.

5.  Focus on the right things. Everyone's life has positive and negative aspects - if you're happy or not depends largely on the aspects you focus on. Lost the softball game today? At least you have to spend time with friends doing something fun. Have you sprained ankle race? Well, your body may need a week off anyway, and he ran too! Does your baby get sick? Well, at least it's just a flu virus and life, nothing threatening ... and at least have a wonderful baby to health care! You can see my point of view - almost everything has a positive side and focusing on the positive aspects make the difference. Aunt Kerry died last week (as you know), and I'm still grieving, but 1) I am happy to have spent time with him before his death, 2) his death brought our immediate family, and 3) their suffering is over, and 4) that reminded me to spend more time with people I love, while they are still alive.

6.  Do work you love. An extension, of course, to do things you like, but applied in the workplace. Already doing the work you love? So you're one of the lucky and you should appreciate how lucky you are. If you do not do the work you love, you should make it a priority to try to find a job that interests you, and guide his career in this direction. Take me for example: I was doing the work I was good (last year), but I was not passionate. I was passionate about writing, so I followed the blogs ... and a year of hard work, I could quit my job and blog full time. I am much happier these days!

7.  Lose himself in his work. Once you have found a job that you want, the key is to get lost ... clear all distractions, find an interesting and challenging job, and just pour all your energy and focus on the task. With practice, you will forget the outside world. There are few joys equivalent work related to this feeling. Learn more.

8.  Help. Is there any better feeling than helping another human being? Not much. And it is not too difficult - here are 25 ways.

9.  Find time for peace. With the hectic pace of life these days, it is difficult to find a moment of peace. But if you can make time for solitude and tranquility, which may be one of the happiest parts of your day. Here is how.

10.  Notice things. Instead of waiting for big things to happen - marriage, kids, house, nice car, big promotion, winning the lottery - find happiness in the little things that happen every day. Little things like a cup of coffee in the quiet of the morning, or taste and berries or simple pleasure of reading a book with your child, or take a walk with your lovely partner. Noticing these small pleasures, all day makes a big difference.

11.  Develop compassion. Compassion is the development of a sense of shared suffering with other ... and take action to alleviate the suffering of others. I think too often we forget the suffering of others while focusing on our own suffering, and if we have learned to share the suffering of others, our suffering seems insignificant accordingly. Compassion is a very useful skill to learn, and that improves with practice. Here is how.

12.  Be grateful. Learn to be grateful for what is in our lives, for people who have enriched our lives, goes a long way to happiness. It helps us to appreciate what we have and what we have received, and the people who helped us. Learn more.

13.  Become a lifelong learner. I think too much fun to read, learn new things, to enrich my knowledge as I get older. I think taking the time to read some of the classics, and the passionate pursuit of new interests, is an energy wisely. Try to do a little every day, and see if it makes you happier.

14.  Simplify his life. This is really identify the things you like (see above), and then delete the rest as much as possible. To simplify your life this way, you create time for your happiness, and reduces stress and chaos in your life. In my experience, living a simple life is a pleasure in itself.

15.  Slow below. Similar to the simplification, which slows's just a matter of reminding you that there is no need to rush through life. Set fewer things on your calendar, and more space between things. Learn to eat slower, drive slower, walk slower (unless you do it for the year). Go slowly helps reduce stress and increase the pleasure of doing things, and keeps you in the present moment.

16.  Exercise. I wrote about the pleasures of the exercise several times. It can be difficult to start an exercise program (here's how), but once you get going, it relieves stress and can really give a good feeling. I'm happy every time I run!

17.  Meditate. You do not need to join a Zendo or get a carpet or learn any lotus position, but the most simple form of meditation can really help you to be present and can leave the game worry about the head. You can do it now: close your eyes and try to focus on your breath as long as possible. Pay attention to the breath as it enters your body, and then as it goes. When you feel that your mind starts to wander, do not worry, but simply recognizes other thoughts, then return to the breath. To do this, a little each day and you get better.

18.Learn to accept. One of the challenges for people like me - people who want to improve and change the world - is to learn to accept things as they are. Sometimes it is better to learn to accept and love the world as it is, and people as they are, rather than trying to do everything and everyone conform to an impossible ideal. I'm not saying that you should accept the cruelty and injustice, but to learn to love things when they are less "perfect".

19.  Spend time in nature. Go outside and take a walk every day, or take the time to watch a sunset or sunrise. Or find a body of water - ocean, lake, river, pond - and spend time taking a look, look. If you are lucky enough to live near a forest or a mountain or a canyon hike. Time in nature is the time invested in your happiness.

20.  Find the miracles of life. I totally believe in miracles, and I think they are all around every day. My children are all miracles. The kindness of strangers are miracles. Life growing around us is a miracle.Find those miracles in your life, and enjoy the majesty of them.