How happy are you really?

As mentioned before, when I have a bad day I sometimes play a little game with myself called, "When Mom was my age." For example: When my Mom was my age she had a 16-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter. She worked a physically and mentally demanding job with long hours and a long commute - often not getting home until after midnight and had to figure out ways to have one-on-one connections with her two teenagers during the weekends. (Thanks, Mom!)

My life always seems much peachier by comparison, and yet, there is a possibility that my Mom was happier overall than I am now.

Researchers have published details of what they are terming the "Happiness Advantage" in the latest issue of Social Psychological and Personality Science. The report states that generally speaking people in their thirties used to be a much happier group than tweens and teens. In recent years, that happiness level has shifted: More teenagers are self-identifying as happy and fewer thirty-somethings are claiming to be satisfied with life.

Although there is a lot of speculation as to what is bringing us down these days - everything from economic instability over the last decade to the pressures of the interconnection of the world and keeping up with social networks - there is some good news to keep in mind: One-third of us are still reporting that we are very happy people.

To me, happiness is what you make it out to be. Is every day of my life 100% happy? No, of course not. But I try to focus on the moments that are instead of complain about the moments that weren't.

Life's too short to spend it unhappy.

What makes you truly happy? Tell me in the comments.