How to Discover What Makes You Happy

Everyone wants to be happy, but most people never take the time to stop and think about what happiness means, much less how to achieve it. Buying new things -- electronics, cars, clothes -- can make you happy for a short period of time, but once the initial rush is over, you need to buy more in order to be happy again. You can discover what gives you long-term contentment and satisfaction; once you do, you can enjoy a lifetime of happiness.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pen

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Instructions

• 1

  Make a list. In her bestselling book "Eat, Pray, Love," author Elizabeth Gilbert writes of the journey out of depression and back to happiness after a particularly rancorous divorce. She made a list of things she always wanted to do, including learning how to speak Italian. Make your own list of activities that you think might make you happy. Don't limit yourself to rational or sensible ideas -- the trick to brainstorming is to think "outside the box."

• 2

  Try items on the list. In the book, Gilbert soon discovered that learning how to speak Italian did, in fact, make her happy. Try some of the items on your list -- weekly hikes, Szechuan cooking lessons, volunteering at your local soup kitchen. If you look forward to the time you spend doing something you wrote down and feel fulfilled while engaged in that activity, it makes you happy.

• 3

  Search your memory. Think back and find small moments in your past that made you happy -- that hot bath you took last week, the day you went to the zoo with your child, the evening you spent reading a book rather than channel surfing on the television. Recreate those moments as often as you can, and look for ways to discover new small encounters with happiness.

• 4

  Keep a journal. At the end of every day, write down what made you happy that day and what made you miserable. As you continue your quest to discover true happiness, your happy list should get longer. Think about what you can realistically change to make your miserable list shorter -- stop wearing those uncomfortable shoes, don't watch that upsetting news show, try not to be the partner in the relationship that is judgmental and snappish. Taking a moment to look at and relive your day's happier moments will help guide you to long-term happiness.