What is happiness?
Simply put, happiness is the feeling of nothing lacking.
When you sit down in calm peace and realize that you do not desire anything else at the moment. That is happiness.
There are basically two approaches to get to this state. Cut and destroy all desire, get off the hedonic treadmill, and be happy with what you have. You can come to a realization that nothing was lacking in the first place and be like a zen monk and find true happiness in just being.
Or you can satisfy all the desires as they come, one after another, so you become like a king sitting on a throne of accomplishment. When you look back, you feel the peace stemming from the certainty that matter what life throws at you, you will handle it too. And then you will go and find a new thing to achieve.
Happiness is a process and a choice.
A choice of achievable goals and a process of actually achieving them, little by little, step by step. Whether cutting the desires or satisfying them. You should always have something or other to work on. This will not let you feel boredom and it will keep improving your creativity.
No matter the path you take, you choose to be happy and then work on it. It's just like building muscles. All the work you put in will come back to you multiplied. And then, like a peak athlete, you will realize that you no longer have to work on it and you just flow - happiness will become your default state.
Or - you can be like me and do both ;)
Love, Felix