Happiness is a choice that you have the power to make possible in your life. Happiness is not something you put in the hands of other people. People and objects will never allow you to be happy if depended on. Because people and objects are temporary happiness, and I'm sure everyone is seeking long term and infinite happiness, these things will never be an equivalent to happiness.

      
With that being said, methods of pinpointing your happiness range from the simplest of things to the most complex forms of happiness. One example from the article (Can Happiness Be Measured) that supports this reasoning is "The simplest way is to ask people how satisfied they are with their life on a scale of one to ten." People don't realize that they can either be their own happiness or reason for unhappiness everything they do, everything they say or allow to be in their life determine their happiness. You're the answer and key to a happy life. The question is are you the one holding the key or is someone doing that for you? An example of how someone let another human being hold their happiness is from the novel (Ethan Frome) "He was never so happy with her as when he abandoned himself to these dreams."

Although happiness can be a temporary feeling in this roller coaster we call life, many people throughout their lifetime have assumed happiness depends on others' situations and others in general when in reality it is they who have the power to change their situations of happiness or unhappiness. In the article (Happiness In Relationships) it shows this reasoning clearly, "In the midst of our  life experience we lose track of how we become happy or unhappy and of who is responsible."A lot of the time people know it is they who make themselves happy but in the craziness and blur of life they tend to forget or undermine how to make themselves happy or they have lost the total idea of happiness as a whole. An example of loss of the idea of happiness to another human being is in the novel (Ethan Frome), "....marveling at the way her face changed... it was intoxicating to find such magic in his clumsy words...speaking of her."

To wrap this up, someone can be in the worst situation you can think of and be the happiest or they can be in the best situation you can think of and still be miserable it all depends on how you handle your situations in life. A great proof of evidence supporting this reasoning was found in the article (Redefining Water), "It's not a quick and easy fix to change your conditioning to turn someone you love but since you are self aware and can visualize a different scenario it is different." It is all how you go about your situation and how you, yourself, choose to deal with it. Positivity and hoping for better will always be the key to your happiness. An example of a man who created a better scenario in his head when in reality his life was not all laughs and smiles was in the novel (Ethan Frome), "For the first time he stole his arms about her, and she did not resist. They walked on as if they were floating on a summer stream." Evidently happiness or being happy is your choice only, and the day you figure this out and implement it into your own life, the happier your situation and you will be.

 In my opinion happiness comes from fulfilled wishes and expectations. That us why some people are happy with simple pleasures in life, such as family, jobs, activities etc.. Others are seldom happy because they feel they have not enjoyed what life should have provided for them. As a strong follower/believer of God, I believe true happiness comes from obeying my Lord, for he, in my opinion, is the key to my eternal happiness.

 To conclude, true happiness no matter how you want to slice it or put it has to come from within. Happiness won't always be there because after all life is filled with uncertainties and unfulfilled doings. So the best you can do is make the very best of any situation you're in or put in. Happiness isn't something you should feel all the time because that would be an unrealistic expectation. To appreciate true inner and external happiness you must have your ups and downs. Happiness will always be what you make it and how you handle it.