on experiencing happiness

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So I'm on this new happiness kick thing. Maybe it's the start of a new year. Maybe it's just because. But I seem to be really interested in learning about why people are happy and how we truly experience that in our life. It's this fascinating to anyone else??

I'll save you from the shpeal (sh peal?) (speal?) about true happiness being found in good health, lots of friends, good life choices...or even money. Do people still think money buys happiness? I thought we were over that one.

Anyway...there's a lot out there that says 40 percent of our happiness comes from our mindset about things and only 10 percent of our circumstances. (the other half is genetic..) And you know what? I think I'm buying it. Here are the biggest things I'm learning:

Learning how to be content in what you have is the best medicine for materialism and a case of 

the "gimme-s."

Realizing that really good or really bad things that happen to us are temporary external factors, and that we as humans are actually very resilient. We can choose to be positive in whatever circumstance we are in.

Change in our mental state takes time. But we can work on it by taking one day at a time and being grateful for what we have in that very moment. 

I realize that some of you have gone through some really hard things and want to discount advice from a girl who's life has been, in general, pretty fantastic. My intention isn't to discredit your own feelings or experiences -- life is hard and bad things happen.

I simply want to encourage us to be people in this world who experience happiness because of who they are and not what they have. There are so many times when I have failed at this myself but this joy thing is contagious. And we have the opportunity to encourage one another in that daily.

What is your take on happiness? What makes you happy?
How are you able to experience joy or happiness and encourage others in that?

If you want to read up on this a little more read this book or watch this documentary