Emily Joy: the case for nominative determinism! When reading her Green Oranges on Lion Mountain, I was reminded of various articles on How To Be Happy. Below is a summary of some of the best points. There is one notable thing that overarches all of them: if happiness is the goal in itself, it will remain out of reach. It is most likely to be attained if and when it is the by-product of living as wholesomely and fully as possible.

Also, whilst the propensity to be happy could largely be in our genes, like almost anything else that is worth having, it can be practised and improved.  Yes, we can choose to be happy! The big question is: how do we achieve it?

Try these:

1. Be nice to people, and be thankful. Every time you perform an act of kindness, your brain produces serotonin, which eases tension and lifts your spirits. There’s a saying: “The happiest people don’t have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.” You will have a deeper sense of contentment if you count your blessings instead of yearning for what you don’t have.
2. See problems as challenges.It has become a cliché: the motivational speaker claiming that in the Chinese language the characters for “danger” and “opportunity”, when put together make the word “crisis”.Winston Churchill had it better when he said: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
3. Dream big and don’t sweat the small stuffPeople who get into the habit of setting high goals for themselves are more likely to accomplish their goals than those who don’t.  “En cien años todos calvos” say the famous Spanish proverb.  “In a hundred years we’ll all be bald”. Life’s too short to get worked up over trivial matters.
4. Get absorbed into the present.Happy people don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future. They relish the present moment. They let themselves get immersed in whatever they’re doing at the very moment that “is”. Stop and listen to birdsong; observe the clouds; watch the chaotic beauty of raindrops on the window pane; smell the lavender in the garden…
5. Don’t bear grudges.“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned.”It’s better to forgive and forget than to let their negative feelings crowd out positive feelings. Holding a grudge has a lot of detrimental effects on your wellbeing, including increased anxiety and stress. “ ‘He insulted me, he hurt me, he defeated me, he robbed me.’ Those who think such things will never be free from hate,” says the Dharmapada.
6. Avoid social comparison.The happiest people know their realistic limits and feel no insecurity in losing out to a superior opponent.  The motivational speaker addresses a room full of hopeful city slickers and appeals to their sense of egotistical ambition: “You can be the best!”  Quite plainly, if they end up in competition with each other they cannot all be the best when measured against an objective yardstick.  The happy person, however, will recognise what his or her “best” actually is and will only feel a sense of disappointment if they fail to meet this very private target.
7. Find your work-life balance.Loneliness is a perverse by-product of success.  The bigger our house and garden, the longer the walk to our nearest neighbour’s front door, and the weaker the relationship between next-door neighbours.  The concept of “networking”, to mean nurturing social relationships in order to gain professional advantage is a faux ami.  By all means be pleasant to people; it is human nature to expect something in return for our friendliness, but if what is expected is anything more than duly returned friendliness, then we are have just climbed aboard the Disappointment Express.Spending time with people we truly love is undeniably good for the soul.  When did you bust out a genuine belly laugh with someone you were only talking to because you thought it might enhance your chances of a promotion?
8. Meditate.Meditating silences your mind and helps you find inner peace. You don’t have to be a Zen master to make it work. Happy people know how to silence their minds anywhere and anytime they need to calm their nerves. If you have never stared at a rock to watch it grow, try it, and please report back to share what happened.
9. Eat well and exercise“You are what you eat” has become a cliché.  “You eat what you are” is a much more entertaining way of putting it. The “experts” contradict each other, even themselves on a weekly basis, so our grandmothers’ maxim “A little of what you fancy” seems to be the best advice after all.As for the exercise, one word: Endorphins.
10. Accept what cannot be changed.There are two kinds of people in life.  Those who complain that life is not fair and feel hard done by, and the Happy People who realise that life is not fair and accept it.  This is not the same as defeatism.  The mental tranquillity to accept and not be defeated by what is being done to us, when we are powerless to stop it, is surely the highest state of mind to which any human being can aspire. Often erroneously attributed to St Francis of Assisi, the following words were first put together by Reinhold Niebuhr, and American theologian.  It must be the most prayed prayer at assembly halls up and down the country:May I be granted the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,The courage to change the things I can,And wisdom to know the difference.

This sums up the mindset of the happy person.