Anyone who has ever taken an economics class has heard the phrase, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Everything has a cost, even if that cost is not always immediately apparent. To achieve anything, you must give up something else.

In today’s happiness-obsessed culture, most pursue the opposite: we want to be happy with no costs, and all of the benefits. We want the rewards without the risks, the gain without the pain.

Ironically, it is this unwillingness to sacrifice anything that makes us more miserable.

Happiness has costs. Happiness is not free. And despite what Cover Girl or Tony Robbins or the Dalai Lama once told you, it’s not always easy breezy figuring out how to be happy either. Here’s how to start figuring out the ‘how’ of being happy.

You Must Accept Imperfection and Flaws
Many people believe that if they just collect a house, a spouse, a car, and exactly 2.5 children, …