Understanding what is true happiness, is the first secret to it all. After all happiness is not that elusive pot of gold people dream of at the end of the rainbow. It is all your state of mind rather than your situation.

Surrounding themselves with family and friends, the happiest people don't bother about keeping up appearances. They prefer to lose themselves in daily activities. This was the truth of Vanuatu, with its low ecological footprint, voted the Happiest Country on Earth, in 2006. A tiny tropical island nation in the South Pacific, where the GNP was rated 207, out of the 233 countries worldwide. Money, or lack of, is not the secret to happiness. Neither is happiness something that can be purchased.

The Pennsylvania psychologist, Martin. E.P. Seligman, states, "The happiest people judge themselves by their own yardsticks, never against what others do, or have".

Others say that the happiest people are those who have learnt the art of forgiving easily. Psychologists do agree that gratitude has a bearing on life satisfaction and experiencing the feeling of well being.

There is a common idea among Western society that happiness is the end product of what you are able to achieve and what you have the ability to acquire. These people are controlled by the 'If only…' syndrome. However, you can have everything in the world and still be miserable. Or you can own very little and feel abundant joy .

Another aspect to happiness was seen when a young man found himself recently in danger of losing his eyesight. "Eyesight is worth at least five million dollars an eye. You have two of them? That makes you very rich. If you really appreciate your eyesight, then the other problems are nothing. Yet if you let it be taken for granted, then nothing in life will ever truly give you joy".

It is possible to intellectually understand how to gain happiness, so the experts all say, yet not have the ability to put it into practice, for in the end happiness is an attitude of choice. It's how you choose to look at life. There are some people who prefer to be comfortable and unhappy, rather than make the effort and wear the discomfort of altering their habits in the search of true happiness.

For some their secret to happiness is based on being considerate of those around them, as we subconsciously mimic those we are in close contact with. Just try walking into a roomful of people with a big happy smile on your face. Half an hour later walk into the same room with a scowl on your face. Watch the instant reaction of those around you.

The scientific community now feel that the search for happiness is becoming more scientific and a field of vital exploration. Though one researcher, American social philosopher, Eric Hoffer, states : "The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness".

Perhaps happiness in January 2009, is not having lost a fortune on the stock market in 2008. Here are a some hints that may aid you in your search for true happiness:

• Know bad times are an inevitable part of the life cycle

• Rationalize and adjust to the low times as soon as possible

• Visualize current and future events in isolation

• Trust in your own resilience – you can always go a lot further than you think you can

• Always remember tomorrow is new day. A chance for a new beginning.

A simple formula to finding happiness is to sit down with your spouse, partner, or roommate in the evening and go back over one pleasure that each of you had during the day. If you are a family, incorporate this into your family routine so that your children also learn to appreciate the simple pleasures of daily living.

Life is full of those once in a lifetime Blue Moon Opportunities, that can make or break you. Success it not happiness, but failure to try, leads to a life full of regrets.

Here’s wishing you all the happiness you can find in 2009.