Happiness takes work.

I'm not saying you should fake it 'til you make it. Being happy requires honesty. If you aren't honest, your happiness may never form or may just shatter when you're least expecting it.

In my experience, happiness is a day-by-day choice. What will I choose today? To dwell on something, or to face it?

I think the first step, though, is to cultivate awareness. What makes you happy?

Some of my list:

• curling up in a clean, warm bed

• being there for someone who needs help

• going outside at night and looking at the sky

• losing myself in an art gallery

• that moment when reading a book when I giggle because I'm so excited about what will happen next

• *getting a new book

I actively try to remember these. When depression or fear or any thought tries to get me to believe, 'I'm not happy,' or 'Nothing is ever going to get better,' I can respond with one of these activities from my list. I can't control my circumstances, but I can control how I react to them. Let's be happy!