Ask HN: What makes you happy?

Alternative title: how to be happy?

The key to happiness is setting goals that are recognizably stretch goals for oneself (but not so stretch that they are unachievable), then achieving them, and then taking pause to reflect on the successful achievement of those goals.

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaW4Ol3_M1o

When you know you're going to die all you have time for is happiness. Ask any old person rotting away their last days in existence in a dilapidated convalescent home. The point is you don't have to wait until you're old to reap the power your death gives you.

Key to happiness(according to Vonnegut): Low expectations.

Key to being good at something while also being happy(who knows but you can try this): decouple self-worth from achievement. Base self-worth on pursuit of consistent, deliberate practice.

I learned this trick from http://thinktrylearn.com/

Step 1: Think. Next time you approach something new, think of it as an experiment. Be curious, with a healthy sense of detachment. A scientist would say "I don't know, let's see what happens," and so can you!

Step 2: Try. Decide what you will try in your experiment. Challenge yourself to do something you might not have done before. Think about how will you measure success. How will you enjoy the journey in addition to the outcome?

Step 3: Learn. Observe what happens and learn from it. The final outcome might be different from your measurement of success. Expect to be surprised.