Happiness is elusive by nature, hiding itself from the masses. Many spend their entire lives searching for happiness and some are lucky enough to achieve a certain level of it. The reason why most have so much difficulty being happy is because most aren’t able to pinpoint what it is that would make them happy.

The trick to finding happiness is to realize that happiness cannot be achieved by simply achieving a goal or attaining a desired object. Happiness—the kind that lasts—is a way of life. Here are 7 steps or changes that you can make in order to create lasting happiness:

1. You Are Who You Believe Yourself To Be.

Your mind is a powerful force. The thoughts that fill our minds tend to manifest themselves in our reality. The way that you see yourself—the belief you have in yourself or the doubt that you have of your abilities—will reflect on the ‘you’ that you project to the world.

If you are constantly doubting yourself, then you are bound to fail. If you feel that you aren’t smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough, sharp enough or any other ‘enough’ that you can think of, then you are writing your very own destiny—a destiny riddled with failure.

If you believe in yourself and know that you are capable of more than you even know, then you will succeed. If you feel that you are successful, then you will be successful. Doubting ourselves makes us our own worst enemies.

2. Get Out Of You Comfort Zone.

This is what always boggles me: people say that they want change, they even believe that they want change, but when given the opportunity they refuse to try anything new—they refuse change. You can dream all you want—if you don’t put your dreams into motion by acting on them, then you will never achieve them. Most of us enjoy remaining in our comfort zone, and for a good reason: it’s comfortable.

The truth of the matter is that change, by definition, is never entirely comfortable. Sure, certain smaller changes can be made with minimal discomfort. But if you are trying to change your life, trying to make your dreams a reality, that is no small feat.

Fearing leaving your comfort zone, leaving what you know to be safe, fearing the unknown will cause you to remain stagnant. If you want change, then you must break through the limitations that you set for yourself and delve into the novel.

3. Set Achievable Goals.

Anything is possible, but let’s be real: unless you win the lottery, you won’t go from broke to millionaire by the end of the month. You won’t go from being 100lbs overweight to having a six-pack by the end of the week—even liposuction won’t give you that.

If you want to avoid failure, then set goals for yourself that you’ll actually be able to achieve. It is one thing to fail because you were either too lazy or inexperienced and it is another to fail because what you planned on doing defied the laws of nature.

Failing is a part of learning, a part of growing. You cannot expect to achieve success without experiencing failures along the way. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again.

4. Remain Optimistic.

It may sound silly to you, but thinking positive really makes all the difference. It’s easy to remain optimistic when things are going well, but if you are doing anything worth doing then you will find that things won’t always be going according to plan. Life has its ups and downs.

You will have your good days and you will have bad ones—the key is to focus on all those good days whenever you experience shitty ones. Whenever you find yourself in a slump, think happy thoughts, stay optimistic and never allow yourself to doubt your abilities. There will be better days—always.

5. You Can’t Control Everything, So Stop trying.

Life is a wave—it’s not meant to be controlled, but meant to be ridden. The one thing that you do have control over is yourself: your thoughts and your actions. The rest of the world works on its own. Trying to control every aspect of your life will not only not work, it will leave you feeling incredibly stressed and frustrated.

Don’t worry yourself with things that are out of your control. Be in control of yourself and you’ll always find ways to deal with whatever life throws your way; roll with the punches.

6. Balance Your Life; Practice Moderation.

Like we have all heard before: too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Life offers us too much for us to allow ourselves to put all our time and energy into one specific thing or task. If you want to live a happy life, then you must live a well-rounded, balanced life.

Take in all that life has to offer, but do so in moderation. To be able to say that you have lived, you must experiment and try new things. Happiness requires an assortment of ingredients—an abundance of a single ingredient won’t do the trick.

7. You Do Have Time To Exercise.

If you are telling yourself that you are too busy to exercise, then you are lying to yourself. There is no person on this planet that is too busy to squeeze in 15-30 minutes of light exercise everyday. You may not have time to hit the gym for 2 hours at a time, but doing a few push-ups, sit-ups and jumping jacks right when you roll out of bed can definitely be part of your daily routine.

Happiness not only requires mental health and prosperity, but also requires physical fitness and wellbeing. You are not only your thoughts. You are not only your body. You are a combination of both and being happy requires both your body and your mind working at their peak performance.

Paul Hudson | Elite. 

For more from Paul, follow him on Twitter @MrPaulHudson