Naturally happy??

"You can never get to peace and inner security without first acknowledging all of the good things in your life. If you're forever wanting and longing for more without first appreciating
things the way they are, you'll stay in discord." — Doc Childre and Howard Martin

Homo sapiens have been naturally pessimistic and unhappy ever since our 'hunter - gatherer' days. It was part of our survival strategies. Christianity even dismisses the pursuit of happiness on earth by promoting the happiness of going to heaven.

"The most self-destructive thought that any person can have is thinking that he or she is not in total control of his or her life. That's when, 'Why me?' becomes a theme song."  — Roger Dawson

Fortunately, happiness can be learned by increasing your awareness of the beauty around you, expecting goodness from people, and appreciating the little things that matter most. Acceptance of the things you cannot change is good, but real appreciation requires respect and admiration along with the end of criticism and self-abuse.

"Generally, appreciation means some blend of thankfulness, admiration, approval, and gratitude. In the financial world, something that 'appreciates' grows in value. With the power tool of appreciation, you get the benefit of both perspectives: as you learn to be consistently thankful and approving, your life will grow in value." — Doc Childre and Howard Martin

Use every opportunity to be thankful for all the areas of your life — even the painful experiences which ultimately taught you lessons.  Take responsibility for your own actions and their consequences. Focus on calm, peaceful moments instead of reliving moments of stress and frustration which cannot be changed. Optimism is simply a conditioned response where additional happiness is expected based on previous happiness. Although happiness and unhappiness register in different parts of the brain, those feelings do not necessarily correlate with optimism and pessimism. 

"...look at that word blame. It's just a coincidence that the last two letters spell the word me. But that coincidence is worth thinking about. Other people or unfortunate circumstances may have caused you to feel pain, but only you control whether you allow that pain to go on. If you want those feelings to go away, you have to say: 'It's up to me.'"  — Arthur Freeman

So do you really need to be happy? The Dalai Lama writes, "I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness...the very motion of our life is towards happiness." By comparing how you feel right now to the pain you've felt before or the fears you have about your future, you can begin to realize that happiness requires living in the here and now. Happiness can include feelings of enthusiasm, joy, pride, contentment, peace, anticipation, excitement, and satisfaction.

"When you arrive at your future, will you blame your past?"  — Robert Half

Ultimately, happiness is yours just by choosing to be happy. You have the power to shift your focus away from unpleasant, to be grateful for what you have, to make wiser choices tomorrow, and to be the kind of person you want to be, living the type of life you want to live. It's all in your perspective and what you expect from life.

"...focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."   — Greg Anderson