Sometimes life seems determined to bring us down with its many trials and tribulations and so sometimes it helps to know a few of many secrets on how to be happy.

1. Forget the past

• You won’t be happy if you carry the burden of the past. Did you make mistakes? Did you have terrible experiences? Whatever they are, you should keep the lessons learned and let the bad part of it all go. There’s nothing you can do about the past, so it’s better if you repress any bitterness and focus on the present.

2. Build relationships

• Relationships are where we can get true happiness in life. The reason is simple: only through relationships can we love and be loved. Make relationships your top priority and you are on your way to true happiness.

3. Count your blessings

• Being happy is easy if we are grateful. Unfortunately, seeing what we don’t have is often easier than seeing what we do have. Sometimes we need to experience loss before appreciating what we have. So don’t take things for granted. Look at what you have and soon you will have plenty of reasons to be happy, you’ll find they can be the simplest things in life.

4. Beware of small things

• Often it’s not big things that ruin your happiness. It’s the small things that do. Perhaps you don’t like someone or break some “small” promises. Basically, don’t sweat the small stuff, even small leaks can sink your ship of happiness, so beware of them.

5. Make others happy

• Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself.”
• This is my favorite secret of happiness. The way to being happy is to make others happy first. The more you help other people and make them happy, the more you will be happy. Happiness doesn’t come through selfishness but through selflessness.