Akshay is one of those typical South Asian young professionals who spends most of his days at work. In the evenings, sometimes he will meet with friends, go out with his partner, or work until very late at night. He has several friends nearby, he takes trips when he can take time off. At a young age, he is able to buy a condominium and nice car. He sees his family once in a while, as they live a few hours away. He has a good relationship with his older sister and her husband. He loves his girlfriend and is looking forward to marrying her in the near future.
Despite everything going so well, he feels like something is missing. Some Saturday mornings, he goes to a café after his run and watches as families, couples and friends all around him are laughing, smiling and enjoying their life. He seems to have it all, but one questions always haunts him: Is he really happy?
Happiness is something that South Asians strive to reach everyday. People from group-oriented cultures like those from South Asia often tie their levels of happiness to how happy others are around them whereas people from 
Western cultures depend on their own lives to make them happy. Regardless of the source of happiness, luck rarely determines who is happy and who is not. To be happy requires a change in lifestyle and a decision to prioritize happiness.
Here are some tips on how to increase happiness:
1) Identify what makes you happy – not what makes you unhappy. Focusing on positive goals will change your perspective and will help you identify parts of your life that can help you reach your goals.
2) Make happiness a priority. Just like good health does not come from just wishing it, being happy requires time and persistence. People who are happy are so because they prioritize their happiness. Identify activities that bring you satisfaction and incorporate them into your daily routine.
3) Accept positive and negative emotions. People who can accept that life has ups and downs tend to be happier. Instead of minimizing your negative mood, learn to acknowledge and accept emotions such as frustration, sadness and disappointment as a natural part of life. This will help you learn how to cope with them in a healthy manner.
4) Increase mindfulness. Mindfulness is the ability to remove the “should” statements from your life and being able to look at a situation for what it actually is. By slowing down and focusing on the present, you are able to keep your life simple and reduce stress which improves happiness.
5) Express gratitude at least once a day. Expressing thankfulness has been shown to improve overall physical health and reduce stress. In addition, it makes you more sensitive to and better at picking up positive aspects of daily life. With this shift in perspective, your mood will lift.
6) Do something nice for someone. Charity, volunteering and helping others is closely tied to how we feel. The more we do for others the happier we are.
7) Eat healthy and exercise. Mood is closely tied to how we eat. The healthier we eat, the happier we feel which in turn encourages us to continue and eat healthily. In addition, exercise increases the production of endorphins, which improves mood, increases overall health and encourages healthy eating.
What do you do to help yourself feel happy?