Generally speaking I am very happy with my life at the moment, it is not "perfect" but chasing a "perfect" life can be a good way to ensure that you are always dissapointed with what you've got.
I suppose 2 key things have lead to me being happier now than I have ever been in the past:
Firstly the realisation that that things that bring instant gratifification are seldom the things that bring long term happiness, for example I spent alot of my younger years going out and getting drunk (and more besides) and I had a great time, but I got fatter and broker as I went. Now I realise that sacrifice and hard work i.e. good diet and training, while not so much fun at the time lead to far greater happiness in the long term. This same model can be applied to most areas of life.
Secondly, without getting too philosophical, the realisation that we can all list 10 bad things in our life and 10 good things in our life and it really is up to us to decide which we want to focus on. Some people choose to see the negative in everything and once stuck in that mindset they will never be happy while others focus on the upside and take the positives from different aspects of their lives, thats not to say they ignore their problems but rather that they find solutions to those problems that can be changed and don't dwell on those that can't.
OMG I sound like a self help book!
