People say that to be happy you need health, family, friends, a nice house, enough money to get by and to enjoy a holiday every now and then, a job that keeps you satisfied and challenged.
I agree to all of the above. There is one thing, though, which we cannot avoid but have if we genuinely want to be happy: being happy with ourselves. As long as we keep trying to be different, are jealous or what others have that we do not, or simply avoid thinking that we are not pleased with ourselves… we will not be happy with our friends, family, jobs, houses. All these things will help us go through the day, and sometimes make us honestly happy, but for happiness to be always at reach we really need to accept who we are.
I used to be a person constantly trying to be different, I thought I was just trying to be better, for me and for the others. I came to realise and accept I was just unhappy of myself. And the day I realised it, I felt so sad: how can I not like myself? How am I supposed to live with myself if I do not like who I am? It turns out, luckily for me, that I am not alone in this since most people feel the same. Knowing this I lost and found the right way for me to achieve acceptance: meditation worked wonders and since I do that regularly, I am just a happier person. The best thing I lost and found in life, is me!