The 12 steps to true happiness

One of the greatest desires of the human heart is to find true and meaningful happiness. Maybe you’ve grown cynical in your quest for happiness, and you’ve convinced yourself that it’s an illusion or a delusion. I’m convinced that happiness is very real and very attainable, but it’s NOT the result of luck, circumstances or even personality traits. Anyone can find happiness because it’s the result of our choices, not our circumstances.

The simplest and most effective way to improve your own happiness is to learn from truly happy people. In my experiences and interactions, the happiest people I know consistently do the following things (in no particular order). If we’ll implement these disciplines into our own lives on a daily basis, I am firmly convinced that happiness will always follow.

The Twelve Steps to True Happiness are:

1. Forgive yourself for past mistakes.

You can’t change the past, so stop beating yourself up for it. God’s grace is bigger than your biggest sin. Jesus took care of settling the debt for you. Embrace grace, but then work hard to make things right with anyone you’ve harmed. Work to rebuild trust you’ve broken, but regardless of how others choose to respond, refuse to live with the baggage of past mistakes. Live in the overflow of Amazing Grace. It’s the first step to peace and happiness.