Some excellent thoughts above. I in particular was drawn to the suggestion the the feeling of euphoria is one that extends beyond that of happiness.

I have experienced so call euphoria. When it was beyond my grasp I really beat myself up for losing it. I was very unhappy as a result of overly high expectations I experience that again. In fact, for pretty much five years I was pretty miserable. All that time there were things though I was ignoring that could have made me happy.

It is not so much that I have lowered my expectations so that they are beneath me as much as discovering that happiness could be achieved without 'demanding' it. I've changed my life. I realise it will likely never be what it once was. So I value and cherish my prior experiences and move onto laying the basis for new.

And this is what I think is important. We need to lay the basis for happy experience. Let's face it, it likely isn't going to fall in our laps. We need to set the ball in motion ourselves. We need to invite happiness into our lives.

So go ahead and make a few plans. Start small and strive for more.