You forge your own destiny — it’s that simple. Instead of wasting your time on thinking about how others around you got lucky, you should take matters into your own hands and live your life exactly how you want.

It’s all about being determined, really. We all daydream and have desires, and those who are actually happy make those wishes come true by themselves. Forming a realistic vision that’s based on a list of your life priorities is definitely a start.

When we daydream about the things we want, it’s often based on material items, like having a car that’s crazy expensive or having a closet full of haute couture clothes. All of this is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, but it’s quite human to want material possessions. However, the best way to attain happiness is by focusing on things that actually matter and see the bigger picture, so that you can understand all its puzzle pieces.

1. Feed Your Mind

Your mind needs to be well-fed in order to be content and healthy. You spend your entire life learning, but it’s crucial to focus all of that information in the appropriate direction. The fact that your educational choices have already brought you to this point does not indicate that you must stop there or limit your skill development. My honest advice is to explore and spend your life trying out new things that appear interesting and exciting since you can’t know if you’re any good at something unless you do it.

As far as I’m concerned, and as many great minds have agreed, reading is a gateway to happiness. Skillfully written books allow you to take a place of another person and they help you develop an understanding for the world and those who differ from you.

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”

—George RR Martin.

2. Take Care of Your Body

A fortress that keeps your health safe, your body is a very important factor that will determine your happiness. The quality of your lifestyle does depend on the numbers on your bank account, sure, but the greatest factor is your health. Ask any person that has health issues and I’m sure that all of them will tell you the very same — the only priority and wish of an unhealthy person is to find their way back to health.

Your age should never be treated as an obstacle; on the contrary — the experience you have thanks to being on the planet longer than those younger than you is your advantage. People are scared of turning fifty, and forty, and even thirty, but those big round numbers are milestones — age is only a state of mind and your perception of it will directly affect your happiness levels. Dwelling on the past, wanting to turn back time and regretting that it is passing you by is actually filling your mind with despair, and that doesn’t leave much room for happy thoughts.

3. Embellish Your Environment

The aesthetic of your home has an impact on your general level of life happiness, despite the fact that it can be a little challenging to understand because it’s one of those everyday things we don’t pay much attention to. If you simply stop to think about it, you’ll realise that being around things you dislike is a source of negativity that should be avoided.

Naturally, you immediately thought about money now, but it’s not necessary to spend a whole fortune in order to start liking your home. My suggestion is to start with your bedroom because it’s imperative that you turn it into a stress free zone. Begin by browsing online and searching for bedroom ideas — you’d be surprised with what you can do only by properly applying colors.

4. Enjoy Your Job

Not everyone is lucky enough to have the ideal job, but you should try to make the most of your current one as much as you can until you’re ready to take the intimidating step and seek the career you truly want.

Every career, in my opinion, has the potential to be gratifying, provided that you can develop a meaningful understanding of what your work truly entails and how it contributes to the greater good. You will be able to see how you contribute to society in this way, and I’m confident that realising this will inspire new excitement and make it possible for you to enjoy your time at work.

You should also work on improving your efficiency — the quality time you spend in your office depends on the quality of the breaks you take. You shouldn’t feel like you’re forced to sit down and work; it should be your choice, so make sure to surround yourself with positivity — talk to the people you like, listen to good music and you can even exercise in your office. Do anything you need to feel good.

5. Secure Your Future

Thinking about what lies ahead is scary mostly because the universe has a very good sense of humor when it comes to our plans. However, there are things that are in your power and you can do them and take control of your future life. True happiness isn’t in money, although our society revolves around it. Developing a plan for your future will secure your happiness, and it’s never too early to start thinking about your pension fund.

I already mentioned how I consider different ages to be milestones, which is a great way to set goals in front of you with reasonable deadlines. You need to put on your thinking hat and find out what you want in life, what needs to be done in order to have that and how much time it takes to achieve those goals.

The hardest thing about all these steps is probably the change of mindset necessary for them to work out. The bottom line is that you deserve to be happy and that you should do everything to make good things happen for you, even if you need to change the way you think. Take your time and allow your mind to embrace this change — everything that comes afterwards will be a piece of one delicious cake.