It’s something we all want. A desire, a hope, a wish to be achieved. Sometimes we think we may actually have it.

We laugh, love, succeed. We smile with excitement, cry tears of joy, giggle with butterflies. We’ve all experienced the fleeting happiness, the one that comes when you’ve accomplished a goal, found $20 in your pocket, or when the restaurant has your favorite cake.

But that’s not truly happiness. Happiness is a feeling, a feeling that can only come from within.

Sadly, we are surrounded by a world filled with unhappiness. You turn on the TV to see the little boy whose Mom was killed in a hit and run, the man who unexpectedly got laid off, the outbreak of a new virus or the family whose house burned down.

But struggles are the sign that something isn’t working, that you need to make a change. That something new needs to start; that the unhappiness is no longer welcomed.

Don’t be friends with someone you don’t like, don’t eat the carrots when you want the cookies, don’t take the job if you don’t really want it. Accept where you are, what you want and what you need.

We are all always waiting, waiting for something more, something bigger, something better. Waiting for the magical “ah ha” moment that is never going to come, it’s an illusion. Discover what makes you genuinely happy, cherish that giddy, satisfied feeling.

We want to believe that happiness easily exists. That one day we will wake up and feel different, lighter, like we are walking on clouds. But you can’t stumble across happiness.

We use unhappiness as an excuse, it lies in our expectations, our dreams, our comparisons . You don’t need to be in a relationship to be happy. You don’t need to be a millionaire to be happy. You don’t need to get an A on your exam to be happy.

Don’t let your happiness depend on someone else. People will leave, things will fail, and opportunities will disappoint you. But blaming others for not being happy isn’t the answer. Don’t give anyone else the power to take away your happiness.

Happiness is here and now. Happiness is individual, we find different things to make us happy. Large or small. Simple or complex. Tangent or untouchable. Believe that happiness can be found again when it’s lost. Because happiness is not a destination.

Don’t settle, as the only thing stopping your happiness is you. Happiness may leave but can always come back, so stop chasing it. Happiness is living life, living in the present. Happiness is immeasurable.

It’s something we get, something we give off and something we show.

We are responsible for ourselves, for our own well being, for our own lives, for our own happiness.