Happiness–it's what we all strive to find and keep, even when it's as elusive as ever. Nobody is jolly and elated all the time, but some individuals are definitely more fulfilled than others. Studies reveal that happiness has little to do with materialistic needs, goods, or wants, or high achievement; it boils down to your outlook on life, the quality of your relationships, and basic amenities like good governance and community resources. Check Step 1 and beyond for more tips and tricks on how to unlock the happier you.

Steps

1 Be optimistic. In the 1970s, researchers followed people who'd won the lottery and found that a year afterward, they were no happier than people who didn't. This hedonic adaptation suggests that we each have a baseline level of happiness. No matter what happens, good or bad, the effect on our happiness is temporary, and we tend to revert to our baseline level. Some people have a higher baseline happiness level than others, and that is due in part to genetics, but it's also largely influenced by how you think.

2 Follow your gut. In one study, two groups of people were asked to pick a poster to take home. One group was asked to analyze their decision, weighing pros and cons, and the other group was told to listen to their gut. Two weeks later, the group that followed their gut was happier with their posters than the group that analyzed their decisions. Now, some of our decisions are more crucial than picking out posters, but by the time you're poring over your choice, the options you're weighing are probably very similar, and the difference will only temporarily affect your happiness.

3 Own yourself. This means accept and embrace your habits, your personality, mistakes, the way you talk, looks, your voice, and most importantly 'You'. Try to be comfortable in your own skin and subconsciously communicate to others that, 'This is me take it or leave it'. It means don't apologize to anyone for something which is a part of you, like your personality, your voice, habits (good or bad), basically anything; remember there is always someone who likes you for the way you are. For example if you want to wear something which is weird but you find it cool, wear it, no one is stopping you. Its a deeper step towards building a good relationship with yourself.

4 Make enough money to meet basic needs — food, shelter, and clothing. In the US, that magic number is $60,000 a year. Any money beyond that will not necessarily make you happier. Remember the lottery winners mentioned earlier? Oodles of money didn't make them happier. Once you make enough to support basic needs, your happiness is not significantly affected by how much money you make, but by your level of optimism.

5 Treat your body like it deserves to be happy. It may sound cheesy to say, but your brain isn't the only organ in your body that deserves to be happy. Researchers have found that exercise, healthy diets, and regular sleep are key factors in growing more happy and staying that way.

6 Stay close to friends and family: Or move to where they are, so you can see them more. We live in a mobile society, where people follow jobs around the country and sometimes around the world. We do this because we think salary increases make us happier, but in fact our relationships with friends and family have a far greater impact on happiness. So next time you think about relocating, consider that you'd need a salary increase of over $100,000 USD to compensate for the loss of happiness you'd have from moving away from friends and family.

          • If relationships with family and friends are unhealthy or nonexistent, and you are bent on moving, choose a location where you'll make about the same amount of money as everyone else; according to research, people feel more financially secure (and happier) when on similar financial footing as the people around them, regardless of what that footing is.

7 Be compassionate. Compassion is all about doing something kind for someone in need, or someone less privileged than yourself. A brain-imaging study (where scientists peek into people's brains while they act or think) revealed that people gain as much happiness from watching others give to charity as they do receiving money themselves!

           You might feel smart for thinking that winning a lottery ticket could make you happy, but you'd be wrong. Money increases happiness only up to a certain level, where your basic needs are met. After that, money makes you no happier than other people. What does make you happy, however, is compassion.

          One study has found that people who look at others giving money to charity makes us just as happy as receiving money ourselves! That means you should find ways to be compassionate if you can. Give back to charity.

           People who volunteer are happier with their lives than those who don't, according to dozens of studies. The United Nations even credits volunteerism as one of the reasons Denmark is the happiest nation in the world -- 43% of Danes regularly give back to their community, compared with 25% of Americans.

          The joy of helping others starts early. A 2012 study found children prefer to give than to receive. Researchers gave two groups of toddlers snacks and then asked one group to give their treats away. The children who gave away their treats showed greater happiness about sharing their possessions, suggesting that the act of personal sacrifice was emotionally rewarding, researchers say.

          The sacrifice doesn't have to be big -- previous research has found that donating or spending as little as $5 on others has emotional benefits.

          Experts say we are all inherently compassionate. Performing acts of kindness, volunteering time and donating money increases happiness by improving your sense of community, purpose and self-image.

8 Have deep, meaningful conversations. A study by a psychologist at the University of Arizona has shown that spending less time participating in small talk and more time in deep, meaningful conversations can increase happiness.  So next time you're beating around the bush with a friend, instead cut right to the chase. You'll be happier for it.

9 Find happiness in the job you have now: Many people expect the right job or career to dramatically change their level of happiness. But research makes it clear that your levels of optimism and quality of relationships eclipse the satisfaction gained from your job.

10 Smile: Science suggests that when you smile, whether you're happy or not, your mood is elevated.  So smile all the time if you can! Smiling is like a feedback loop: smiling reinforces happiness, just as happiness causes smiling. People who smile during painful procedures reported less pain than those who kept their facial features neutral.

11 Forgive: In a study of college students, an attitude of forgiveness contributed to better cardiovascular health. You could say forgiveness literally heals the heart. While it is unknown how forgiveness directly affects your heart, the study suggests that it may lower the perception of stress.

12 Make friends. In a 2010 study published by Harvard researchers in American Sociological Review, people who went to church regularly reported greater life satisfaction than those who didn't. The critical factor was the quality of friendships made in church. Church-goers who lacked close friends there were no happier than people who never went to church. When researchers compared people who had the same number of close friends, those who had close friends from church were more satisfied with their lives.

13. Practice kindness. Do something nice for someone else, whether it's someone you know or a stranger. It can be spur of the moment or planned out. You can do the good deed anonymously or help the beneficiary directly.

14. Keep a gratitude journal. People who kept a weekly gratitude journal actually did more exercise, had fewer physical problems and felt more optimistic about the coming week and life in general, according to gratitude researcher Robert Emmons, a psychology professor at the University of California, Davis.

15. Get spiritual. There's plenty of research showing that people who participate in their local church, synagogue, mosque, temple, monastery or other preferred spiritual community are happier. Even reading spiritual literature can be helpful. Not religious? There are ethical societies and movements that get people thinking beyond themselves.

16. Buy experiences, not stuff. A vacation with loved ones or buying tickets to a show or concert will make you happier than buying another gadget. Those gifts help you feel closer to others, said San Francisco State University psychology professor Ryan Howell. "Instead of buying the jersey of your favorite baseball player, for example, buy a pair of tickets to a game, which will allow you to spend time with a friend or a loved one."

17. Buy stuff that creates experiences. So you still want to buy something? How about gear that allows you to have experiences in your areas of interest, such as games or music? "Experiential products such as sporting equipment or musical instruments are a special class of material items that allow you an opportunity to engage with people you care about," Howell said. Even board games count, since you can play them with a friend.

18. Stop hanging out on social media so much. People who spend more time on Facebook and other social media report lower self-esteem, less connection to others, fewer positive emotions and even more homesickness (for college students), said Timothy Bono, assistant dean and lecturer in psychology at Washington University. "Social media also evokes upward social comparison, often leaving us feeling worse about ourselves," he said.

19. Stop checking your email.  People who check their email all the time are more stressed than people who check their email just three times daily, according to a recent study. We know it's hard to do. "People find it difficult to resist the temptation of checking email, and yet resisting this temptation reduces their stress," said Kostadin Kushlev, the study's lead author and a Ph.D. candidate at University of British Columbia's Department of Psychology, in a statement.

20. Focus on time, not money. Although people typically focus on money, marketing professor Cassie Mogilner has found that that focusing on time often helps people realize that time is a precious resource. That knowledge helps them be more deliberate in how they spend it. "This leads people to spend their time in ways that are more fulfilling and that make them happier, like connecting with the people in their lives," said Mogilner, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

21. Lose yourself in your activities. Do you remember the time you "lost" yourself because you were having so much fun playing tennis, gardening, sailing, learning a new musical instrument, woodworking or baking the perfect pie? Increase the number of opportunities to "lose" yourself in a new or old activity that occupies your brain and body.

22. Embrace failure. Failing is way to learn what doesn't work before we learn what does work. People who succeed often fail many times before they succeed. "Success requires acquiring experiences and learning lessons," Bono said. "Very often, the best way, and sometimes the only way, to acquire that experience and learn those lessons is through failure: trying things one way, realizing what doesn't work and then making the appropriate changes."

Tips

          • Avoid complicated situations where you could find yourself unhappy. If people are persuading you to do something that makes you uncomfortable, don't do it. You will feel so much happier knowing that you went with your gut and made the right choice.

          • Don't be afraid to admit when you're down and need a lift. Conversely, if a person is a negative influence who drags you down, don't be afraid to remove such a person from your life. However, it is even better when you can see the potential in people, and help them. As with charity, this is beneficial to both you and them; and you have a valuable friend afterwards who is grateful of your aid.

Warning

Keep the right company. Friends should be selected very carefully, not just to avoid loneliness, as more often than we realize bad friends can be very damaging. Friends who are not on a persons intellectual level, are greedy, are sadists, jealous etc. can suck the life energy out of that person. It is better to have no friends or less friends than having such friends.

          • Select friends who are on same or better intellectual level than you are, who do not try to distract you, rather guide you towards your goals, who are not continuously indulging in negative talks and who share common interests. These are some qualities that will help you in selecting better friends and thus increase the quality of both your friend's as well as your life.

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