I have experienced happiness much more as a personal choice than a byproduct of living.
Your living creates certain external circumstances that can lead to happiness or depression. Often it really doesn't matter what the external result is produced by your "living" but how you internally decide to respond to it.
To share one of my favorite quotes on the topic :)
"If you can't be happy with a lollipop - how could you possibly be happy with a yacht?" Richard Bandler
Wonderful point. I've become convinced over time that how my life is going (at least, above a certain threshold and beyond short-term effects of recent unusual events) has relatively little effect upon how I'm feeling. It's more about how I choose to see things.
As a result, I've found my way to a great deal of happiness without any truly extraordinary achievements. Nowadays, my friends tell me I'm 'easily amused', which I take as a great compliment.
Your living creates certain external circumstances that can lead to happiness or depression. Often it really doesn't matter what the external result is produced by your "living" but how you internally decide to respond to it.
To share one of my favorite quotes on the topic :)
"If you can't be happy with a lollipop - how could you possibly be happy with a yacht?" Richard Bandler