I'm reading "Successful Women Think Differently" by Ms. Valorie Burton, a Certified Personal & Executive Coach.  I find she writes well and is well researched; she;s backed by other material that I have read by others.

Valorie shares the Happiness formula, in the diagram (right), starting with the "Set Point." Nobody has any control over Set Point, which is where we start in life, it's genetic. You were born either an Optimist or a Pessimist and unfortunately, there isn't anything you can do to change that natural gravitation. However, Intentional Activity, which are the purposeful daily actions done intentionally to be happy, like when I bought new clothes today, having lunch with my good friend Sandy yesterday, and by writing this blog to share some insightful life thoughts. The third pie portion, Circumstances, is what we usually call Life. 

There are some who may be irritated with this ideology because they think I just told them they only have a slight chance at being happy; we'll call them "P" people.  But P people should know that's not what I said, its just what the P person wants to believe I said.

There are others who read that they are more foruniate because they have a head start.   They might think "Cool, I'm an Optimist so I have a better chance at being happy and now I'll go call a friend and have a Margarita to celebrate!" Do you see the irony?  

I've always been a generally happy person and find myself smiling at strangers all the time. I throw emoticons into my texts, FB posts, and even doodle them when I pass a sticky note to others. People sometimes smile back, others scowl. The other day I handed over a referral for a printing company with a big fat happy face on it to my friend who passed it over to the lady who needed the information. The lady loudly whispered "Why is there a smiley face on it?"  My friend replied, "Because she's a happy person and likes to pass it along."  The truth is, I have plenty of Life Circumstances but I choose to be happy anyway, even if people scowl or try to bring me down.

It's a simple mathematical equation - (SP + IA + C) = Happiness.  To be happy I must first understand my Set Point, know how my Circumstances are effecting me emotionally, and take action to be happy. 

I continued this blog here:

Intentional Happiness Activities