The first secret is gratitude. All happy people are grateful. Ungrateful people cannot be happy. We tend to think that being unhappy leads people to complain， but it’s truer to say that complaining leads to people becoming unhappy.
The second secret is realizing that happiness is a by-product of something else. The most obvious sources are those pursuits that give our lives purpose—anything from studying insects to playing baseball. The more passions we have， the more happiness we’re likely to experience.
Finally， the belief that something permanent transcends us and that our existence has some larger meaning can help us be happier. We need a spiritual or religious faith， or a philosophy of life. Your philosophy should encompass this truism： if you choose to find the positive in virtually every situation， you will be blessed， and if you choose to find the awful， you will be cursed. As with happiness itself， this is largely your decision to make.
我以前并不是一个非常快乐的孩子，像大多数十几岁的孩子一样，我总是沉浸在自己的烦恼中。但是，有一天，我豁然开朗：谁都有可能不快乐，那不需要任何勇气或努力，真正的挑战就在于，你努力想使自己快乐。
也许很多人都未曾听说过，快乐也要付出努力。我们通常认为，当我们很难控制或无法控制的好事降临时，快乐才随之而来。
然而，事实刚好相反：在很大程度上，我们自己控制着快乐。快乐是努力争取的成果，而不是等待的结果。
要让生活更加快乐，我们必须扫除一些绊脚石，以下是其中三个：
与他人攀比
大多数人都喜欢与自认为比自己快乐的人比较——亲戚、熟人，或者是我们不甚了解的人。我曾经遇到一个年轻人，他的巨大成功和快乐让我羡慕不已。他说他非常爱自己漂亮的妻子和女儿们，也为能在自己喜欢的城市做一个电台脱口秀节目主持人而感到高兴。我记得当时以为他是那些为数不多的幸运儿之一，一切都那么轻而易举。