What makes some people happier than others? What makes you happy? Money? Recognition? Leisure? Accomplishment? All of these can help, but what really makes you happy is … you. You make yourself happy by your reactions to everything around you. Here are nine habits that can make you make you happier, no matter how happy you are right now;

Habit #1 Throw a parade in your honour.

When the dining room needs painting, you know what to do: cover the floor with plastic, tape up the corners, plaster and sand the cracks, spread on the primer, paint two coats, pull off the tape, pull up the plastic and Voila! your masterpiece. Oh, yes, and you berate yourself for the spot in the corner, the spot you missed, the one nobody else will even notice. It's an attack of spotmisserism!

If you focus on the spot you missed, how can you cheer for your masterpiece? And if you don't cheer for your successes, how will you be proud of yourself? By cheering every little success, rather than focusing on our occasional setbacks or missed spots, we make happiness.

Habit # 2 Distinguish yourself.

We're all the same, only different. It's what's different that makes you special. Do your own thing. Break the mold. Think outside the box. Shake off the pressure to conform (but don't create pressure to be different either!). By feeling proud of our differences, rather than ashamed, we make happiness.

Habit # 3 Count your blessings.

Is the glass half empty or half full? This is my favorite question I ask participants in my seminars. The answer is … "no." The glass is not half empty or half full; it's full. The cup of life runneth over. Never since the dawn of humanity have we had so much. So much stuff. So much freedom. So much knowledge. So much experience. So much opportunity.

Life itself is a miracle, and it is simply crammed with wonders. By constantly saying "Thank you" for everything we enjoy, rather than taking them for granted, we make happiness.

Habit # 4 Learn, then burn.

Have you ever told someone, "Leave me alone. It's my right to be angry?" Technically, it is. But anger is never pleasant, and it would be more useful to say, "Help me. I have the misfortune to be angry."

Life gives us so many lessons, so many opportunities to learn. Somehow, we react to these lessons with frustration, anger, guilt, embarrassment. By learning the lessons, then burning the painful feelings, we make happiness.

Habit # 5 Carpe diem.

Is there a book hiding in you? Have you always wanted to act? Tired of working for someone else? Everybody has a dream, but only some people pursue it. I pursued mine when I wrote Climb your Stairway to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness. But fear of failure, or of the unknown, or maybe even of success, can paralyze a person.

There is so much to accomplish, so much to explore, so much to try. If fear sometimes holds us back, sooner or later we regret all the things we were afraid to do. By seizing the day and breaking out of our Comfort Zone, we make happiness.

Habit # 6 Slow it down.

The pace of life in the modern world builds up our stress level. If you are trying to juggle so many things at once that you feel like your job title is Chief Octopus, it's time to take a break. By taking time to breathe, to relax, to be, we make happiness.

Habit # 7 Pump it up.

Sometimes we react to stress by tuning out. We fail to keep our bodies in good shape, we donate our hours to television, we waste away. It's OK to tune out sometimes. We need the break. It's OK to watch TV sometimes, it can distract us. But we need just as much to move, to hike, to swim, to cycle, to stretch our muscles and pump our blood. By getting up and moving, we make happiness.

Habit # 8 Choose YouBet people.

You can tell a person by the company she keeps. If you spend your time and share your secrets with upbeat, supportive YouBet people, that's just how you will be. If you spend your time instead with complaining, pessimistic YeahBut people, guess how you'll wind up?

We are each a product of our environments, so make your environment the happiest possible. By surrounding ourselves with happy, positive, supportive, enthusiastic people, we make happiness.

Habit # 9 Spread the joy.

Smile at someone - anyone - and watch that person's face light up. Watch him smile back at you … and make you smile all the more. Whenever we spread our joy to someone else, it reflects back at us. Love is best when it's shared. Ideas multiply when they are shared. And joy proliferates the same way. When it comes to happiness, it is in giving that we receive. By sharing our joy with others, by raising the happiness in our environment, we make happiness.