There is nothing wrong with chasing after happiness. There is nothing wrong with getting more of things to be happy. Whether it is an ice cream cone or a raise at work, getting things makes us happy and will continue to do so. It’s just that the kind of happiness it gets us is short term. No matter how much we get of things and stuff outside ourselves we can’t get enough things to make us permanently happy. Hasn’t worked for you, hasn’t worked for your parents or anyone else you know.

What then, is a simply one second key to happiness? Well, it turns out that happiness has many different levels. There is giddy joy, there is quiet contentment, there is the pleasure of a piece of cake. But one of the first levels of happiness is

Acceptance.

That’s right, simply accepting each moment as it is rather than trying to get to something better can instantly begin to make you more content. Allowing what is happening to happen without resisting it is a powerful secret to happiness.

Since everything is just as it is, why dislike it and resist it?

In any moment, you can practice acceptance. Your mate irritating you with one of their quirks? Can you accept it in the moment? Your bank account has $100 in it rather than 1 million? Can you accept it in the moment? Doesn’t mean you can’t ask or work for change in either of those situations, but the more you resist life the more unhappy you will be. And the more you can accept it, the more content you will become. It might take a while to reach a million in your bank account or to mold your mate (if ever you can!) to be “just right,” do you really want to wait til you get there before you accept and honor your life as it is?

So try it out for yourself. It takes just one second. However your life is showing up right now, with its problems, challenges and benefits, can you embrace it? Can you accept it? Try that for yourself and see how it begins to change your feeling state. The more you do it, the more you will come to peace, which is a deep level of satisfaction.