We are often told that money can’t buy happiness, but there is sometimes a gap in understanding why. Having a lot of money certainly provides freedom, and you can buy things that you imagine would make you happy, but in reality these things just bring pleasure. Pleasure is temporary, a short term excitement that passes with the novelty of the experience. This is what money is very good for acquiring.

Happiness is an entirely different story, it relates to how we perceive ourselves, our situation, and our overall place in the world. If you are not happy without money, acquiring it will not magically change that. The good news is that you have full control over your happiness by changing how you perceive yourself and your situation.

If you do not appreciate your day to day life, including all the opportunities and people in it, how can you expect to be happy? Start saying thank you for everything. Be grateful to your family, friends, coworkers, and for yourself. Appreciate all that you have, stop taking it for granted.

If you are grateful for your experience, happiness will naturally spring up from within.

If you constantly seek the next pleasure, you will never be satisfied.

Stop looking outside of yourself for things to make you happy – only you can make yourself happy by altering your perception. Take responsibility for your mental state, no one else can alter your feelings without your allowance. Simply because something bad happens does not mean you must react in a negative way or hold on to the negativity.

Give up dependence on your situation, when you no longer see yourself as the victim you can decide how you want to feel. Why should you continue to allow external factors to dictate your internal state?