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“Am I happy?" is a closed question that suggests a binary approach to the pursuit of the good life: we are either happy or we are not. Happiness, according to this approach, is an end of a process, a finite and definable point that, when reached, signifies the termination of our pursuit. This point, however, does not exist, and clinging to the belief that it does will lead to dissatisfaction and frustration.
We can always be happier; no person experiences perfect bliss at all times and has nothing more to which he can aspire. Therefore, rather than asking myself whether I am happy or not, a more helpful question is, "How can I become happier?" This question acknowledges the nature of happiness and the fact that its pursuit is an ongoing process best represented by an infinite continuum, not by a finite point. I am happier today than I was five years ago, and I hope to be happier five years from now than I am today.
Rather than feeling despondent because we have not yet reached the point of perfect happiness, rather than squandering our energies trying to gauge how happy we are, we need to recognize that happiness is an unlimited resource and then focus on ways in which we can attain more of it. Becoming happier is a lifelong pursuit."

"The rat racer's illusion is that reaching some future destination will bring him lasting happiness; he does not recognize the significance of the journey.
The hedonist's illusion is that only the journey is important. The nihilist, having given up on both the destination and the journey, is disillusioned with life. The rat racer becomes a slave to the future; the hedonist, a slave to the moment; the nihilist, a slave to the past.
Attaining lasting happiness requires that we enjoy the journey on our way toward a destination we deem valuable. Happiness is not about making it to the peak of the mountain nor is it about climbing aimlessly around the mountain; happiness is the experience of climbing toward the peak."

"I believe that the spread of happiness perception can bring about a societywide revolution, no less significant than what Karl Marx had hoped to achieve. The Marxist revolution ultimately failed, though not before claiming millions of lives and making many more miserable. Because the means it used were immoral from the outset—taking away freedom from the individual—it was doomed to bring little more than destruction and unhappiness. The happiness revolution, when it comes about, will lead to radically different outcomes, through radically different means.
In contrast to Marx's proposed revolution, which was going to be externally driven, the happiness revolution must come from within. Marx was a materialist; he believed that history was driven by material conditions and therefore that change had to come from the outside, through material means. The happiness revolution, which is about the change from material perception to happiness perception, is mental and therefore internal. No outside force is required to bring about this change; no such force is capable of bringing about this change. Conscious choice—the choice to focus on happiness as the ultimate currency—is the only change agent.
A happiness revolution will come about when people recognize, in theory and in practice, that happiness is the ultimate currency. While many people would agree, in theory, that this is true, a closer look at the way they lead their lives reveals that in effect they are driven primarily by factors other than happiness. Happiness perception can help us, as a society, emerge from the "great depression" in which we currently find ourselves. The implications to society, though, go beyond raising our collective levels of well-being..."