Happiness for me is primarily about contentment and creativity. I do believe it's an inside job most, if not all the time. I think our moods can be and are affected by outward things such as money problems, loss, etc, but that true happiness can only come from within. After many years of depression I learned on my own that getting to know and love (and forgive) oneself are the initial steps to happiness. From there I learned to be authentic...which can be pretty scary but, in the end definitely worth it. I think once you make that choice and have mastered authenticity and learned to base your life on your own values instead of other's values and opinions, happiness (or at least contentment) is inevitable. Getting to know oneself is key to finding what makes you happy. For me and many others life would hold far less joyful without a creative outlet. I think everyone has an innate need to be creative and I believe those who find their creative outlet in their work or can make it their work are far more likely to be happy. I also believe spirituality can play a very important role. That, too, I believe is an inside job. From my own experience, religion was always one of the things that contributed to my depression and feeling a lack of happiness. Trying to live up to everyone's standards (especially God's) was a formula for failure and guilt. Freedom from religion and living according to my own spiritual and moral standards set me free far more than Jesus or religion ever could or ever did.