People get a lot of their emotions mixed up and mislabeled. I put this little article together on happiness. I hope it helps.
Happiness
One said: “You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”
This is so true. Happiness is not something we achieve and dwell there, that is contentment. Happiness is something we pick up as we go through life, like playing with a toddler or puppy. The constant presence of a joyful countenance—or merriment, if you like—would make you look quite crazy or mad. So, contentment is what we are really after in life.
The meaning for our lives is something God will reveal to us when we are able to comprehend it. If not in our lifetimes, then in the hereafter.
Then another one said: “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”
I don't think that is quite the approach to take. It could set us up for disappointment. We can learn to be content doing a job that we don't necessarily love. Not all of us will be able to find work we find interesting and edifying. God's word says all work if profitable. Even failed attempts are useful as lessons.
For contentment's sake any job you find yourself doing, do it well. Remember, God is watching even if no one else is. I think David and Joseph set good examples to show us this. They always put their best foot forward and did their best in everything they tackled. They also had faith that God was working through their endeavors. I think that is the key to success.
So, we pick up our happiness as we go on our daily journey if we are content in life. I feel that contentment comes only if there remains hope in our lives. Without hope, our spirit dries up:
Pro. 13:12
“Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.”
Pro. 17:22
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
Pro. 18:14
“The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?”
Ecc. 3:11
“He has made everything beautiful in His time; also He has set eternity in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end.”
I admonish all the brethren to not seek, but be content with their positions in life. Why? Because God has brought you to this point looking out for your spiritual advancement. He knows what He is doing. Everything, good and bad, works together for our overall good. Keep hoping in Christ, you will be content.