Happiness is the one thing most of us seek after and for many it remains a lifelong quest. Chances are you want to be happy all the time but that is unlikely to happen. But what if you could attain consistent and sustained happiness most of the time, wouldn’t that be great? What if you could unlock those critical factors that would bring you increased happiness in your life.

Happiness means different things to different people, for some it is the attainment of a life goal or contributing to the lives of others. Can you remember at time when you were truly happy, when you had a feeling of total joy and you were yourself throughout the process? Do you remember what that felt like and how everything and everyone around was affected?

When you increase your level of happiness you will be improving your relationships, health, energy levels, productivity and at the same time reduce the impact of those negative forces on our lives.

Here are the ten critical factors of happiness:

· Core values and beliefs. Your values guide your every decision and by extension your destiny. Your beliefs determine whether or not you will attain that destiny. Knowing your values and beliefs and living by them is the ultimate way to live and the main door to achieving greater happiness in your life. To know what your core values are ask yourself “What’s most important to me in life?” to believe in something is to have a sense of certainty about it. To create this sense of certainty you should search your mind for the experience s you’ve had in the past and use them to support that idea.

· Taking action. Inaction is one sure way to kill any happiness you may have quickly if not instantly. In order to live by your values and beliefs you must take action to do so your happiness demands it. Never give consul to fear indecision, laziness or frustration immobilize you. Work through those negative forces and up you confidence level and live in a manner that reflects your desire to be happy. Get up and get out there and do it.

· Goals. Many people are unhappy because they do not set goals. You must set new goals for yourself and do something each day towards it’s attainment. No matter how small they might be, set them anyway and work at achieving them. Make sure your goals are what you want them to be and no one else’s, the worst thing in life is to live it doing what others say you must do.

· Gratitude. Be thankful for everything in live that you have. Yes you must give God thanks for all that you now experience and pray that you will do better as time goes by.

· Expand your mind with learning. Work constantly to engage your brain by trying to learn more. Be interested in learning new things and open up your mind to new ways of seeing things.

· Key yourself healthy. One major part of happiness is good health so never ever do anything that will jeopardize your health. Do what you must to be healthy and stay that way it will benefit you for years to come. Be aware of what your body is telling you when something is wrong and have it checked out.

· Positive influence on others. One of the happiest feelings you can have in life is knowing that you are a positive influence on someone’s life. Many people are in search of real role models and leaders. When you are a positive influence you will have the opportunity to get ahead in life.

· Dream big. Do not get caught up in what is going on right now, that’s not the true reality, live life on your own terms. Always keep in mind that it is possible to live your dreams so dream big dreams.

· Take a break. Many people get so caught up in living life and getting by that they end up burning themselves out. You must realize that you need to take a break and take some time to yourself so that you can serve yourself and others better.

· Keep moving forward. Be careful whom you listen to on a day-to-day basis. Give attention to those who will support and help you don’t listen to those that will put you down. Focus on moving forward and let no one stop you.

It is important for you to know that this list is not exhaustive but these are the most critical factors of happiness. You may add to this list to suit your own needs.