Do you have any thoughts about making your blogs into a book? You really have good reflections and teachings here. 

Anyways, I am happy because I love and enjoy doing my roles and reaponsibilities, and I have conquered the worst times in my life. 😊 And I would be happier if my dreams will come true. 

You have good timing, I just finished playing one of my favorite old video games, Rome: Total War.  Pretty sure you'd like it if for no other reason than all the loading screens have a fun quote each time.

[Happiness is a warm gun.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdvnOH060Qg)

Couldn't not lead with that :)  For me happiness is the state that exists in the absence of anything bad happening.  If nothing is actively going wrong I'm happy.  Then there's euphoria, which seems to come with doing things well, adrenaline, or dopamine.  It's a slightly different critter though. 

My childhood is much similar to yours or perhaps even worse. My parents were always struggling in providing our basic necessities, big time financially short but that hardship  didn't stop us from dreaming. I can't even remember blaming my parents for being poor. That hardship actually prepared us and mold us to be  strong. It just depend on how we look at life. We standardized life. We thought having collection of cars, having a big house, branded stuff and all sort of that is the source of happiness. Hey! There are many RICH BUT UNHAPPY  people out there end up killing themselves or taking drugs...and so are the poor- Depressed! 
I strongly believe that contentment is the key to real happiness. Happiness spring from within. It start from changing your mind, the old pattern of thinking. Start counting your blessings. focus on what you have and not on what you don't have that others have. Stop comparing yourselves to others and just focus on changing/ bettering your life. In life, there's only one you compete; yourself. Just compete yourself.

Life - happiness indeed does have less connection to material things and its real source is from within. 

When I was a teenager, I heard that a celebrity committed suicide and I was like why would someone who has money and fame end their life? They should be the happiest person in the world but unfortunately, things don't work out that way. 

My childhood had a twist, it started all beautifully until I was five. Things went from good to really bad and just with my mom taking responsibility,  we became homeless in a twinkle of an eye but despite everything I and my sibling was happy. We barely had three square meals and as we grew, we were always positive about becoming great to turn our situation around. 

This happiness was built on hope, family, contentment, love and a proper mindset. Despite lacking, mom ensured we were taught the importance of these things and today, I still invest in these things because it helps me maintain a high level of happiness even though I still do not have it all. 

A lot of things have changed between now and then, and even though I still have numerous challenges, somehow I still find myself happy to a reasonable extent. 

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Many things have happened to achieve my full happiness I think that after I came out of the darkness of cancer I appreciate even that process because it has led me to the light of things, and I am still learning, it is the magic to turn the simple things of life into delicious events and I wish that everything adds up the rest of the days that I have left to live.

That's why every space I win in favor of "creating this culture of happiness" is a space to celebrate".

Happiness is always a choice. Most people thought that we can get it from having a lot of money, having what we want but sometimes the real happiness is not just all about that. Though money is sometimes an instrument to make someone happy but contentment and being grateful for the things that you have will give you a real happiness. 

Well, happiness comes from the heart. For you to know that you have real happiness, its when you find yourself in trouble but still have peace inside you. What always makes me happy is when i have money either by cash or bank. It comes to a time when i don't have any cash, even someone communicates to me, my mind won't be there.

Your words are very nice. You had a great childhood, that makes you value a lot the things you own, not only the material. 
I find it so dedicated of you to have a notebook, handwritten with phrases 😍. One day of this you share it 

Happiness for me, is a state. 
Happiness can come from gratitude, a surprise, a result, an inner state of peace. It can come from emotions and from habits as well. Meditating ins something powerful that can trigger happiness. 
So, happiness is a conscious state of being, detached from Ego and individualism. 

<div class="text-justify">

The majority of people would definitely be dissatisfied with the answer, "It's within you." If I asked myself, "What is needed to make me happy?" at this point in my life, I wouldn't say to myself that "it's within me," if I am being honest. And I think it's because I have been clouded by a lot of challenges and difficulties that are making me blind to the fact that I have one salient reason to be happy.

I didn't grow up with the things I wanted, but looking back, I see that I grew up with all that I needed: a loving family, food on my table (often times), consistent shelter, and, very importantly, a good upbringing. I am proud to know that I have been taught well enough to be modest, thoughtful, and built with character.

One has to see past their difficulties and hold a content mindset to feel the positivity in their lives. I am reminded of this today.
</div>

I believe that the foundations are made in childhood; education and above all the example we receive from our parents can form and direct us in an important way.

I am not a materialistic person and I can say that I had a happy childhood; for this reason I consider myself really lucky and I am lucky to have two parents who have always taught me important values... as a teenager I may have done the opposite of what they said by contract but as I grew up I began to understand what they wanted to teach me and today many their values are also mine and my family's.

My moment of happiness right now is at home with Reny and our pets, no matter what we do, whether we're doing some gardening or relaxing on the sofa when I'm together with my family in our beloved home I'm happy and serene.
They are also when we are all together elsewhere, but this house that we have built with difficulty is our castle, our fortress so we are fond of it.

The biggest challenge is the definitive achievement of financial freedom to no longer have to commit my time to anything other than my family; obviously this challenge is linked to my loved ones because the goal is to be able to allow them a peaceful life, without wasting money but without too many worries.

When I was a child, my family and I also struggled financially. It's not easy, even when you're little, to realize how worried a mom or dad is about providing for the family. So I understand when you say that it made you sad @galenkp 

I do believe that happiness starts in our minds. I have met people in difficult circumstances and yet they have an incredible attitude 😃

In my case, I am happy on many occasions. But sometimes I get a little deflated 🙈 That's why I think I have to pay more attention to the attitude and not to the circumstances themselves 🌟

My personal take on life-happiness is that the lesser we need, the easier it is to be happy. I do think it takes a lot of conviction to stay true to that given the societal pressure where people are always making comparisons.

I was reading a post the other day about a person who retired after becoming financially independent in his 40s, but at gatherings, when asked what his occupation was which he replied he was retired, he felt that he was being judged and people assumed that he was unemployed/couldn't find a job and just used "retired" as a shield to make himself look better. Oh well.

There's another old quote that says "don't have what you want; want what you have." It's very similar in nature. I'd like to get to that point.

"Happiness" is something that is not terribly easy to define, and probably means something different to many different people. I'm not going to be all negative and whiney on your post, but I'm personally not sure I've ever been *happy* for more than a few fleeting moments in time. Content, perhaps. Accepting. I'm just not sure what happy means to me to know if I've reached it. Now, I've definitely reached moments of peace. Maybe that's the answer I'm looking for. And, since I have the ability to find those moments, maybe that'll be *happy* for me. I'll need to dwell on that.