Happy people know that everything is fleeting. They know that the struggles they face will pass, but at the same time, they also know that the great things that are in their lives will pass as well. Happy people live in the moment.

Happy people don’t call themselves “happy people” or think of themselves that way. They define happiness as a sense of peacefulness and contentment mixed with pursuing their deepest passions. This is what happy people know.

They know that few things matter more than how much you love everyone, starting with yourself. They know that loving yourself means respecting yourself and doing for yourself what will make you the best you possible.

They know that nothing should be taken too seriously, and that all they give will be returned to them twofold. They know that there is a greater plan and a higher force. They live in awe and wonder of the universe, and try to maintain a sense of childlike wonder.

Happy people choose happiness because they choose to do what will best facilitate it. If they’re struggling with depression, they choose to get help from a professional, or whatever else they may need to get through it. They choose to help themselves, to be brave, and to accept things they can’t change, even when it seems most impossible.

Because more than anything, happy people know that happiness is never sedentary. They acknowledge all of their emotions and are equally grateful to experience them all. Happy people immerse themselves in the physical life they have now, knowing it’s not permanent.

And they all started their journeys as broken people, whether they self-destructed or had unfortunate circumstances or life events come upon them. I know, because I am one of these self-destructing people turned happy. Happy people know suffering more than anyone else, and that’s how they can see just how damn beautiful their lives are. It’s because they’ve seen the depths.