Happier

I think happiness happens when we're not "trying" so hard, when we're not totally obsessed with "being happy" but rather living in the natural flow of our soul's agenda.

Remember, old roles that you may want to leave behind -- as wife, mother, daughter -- have been part of your identity for years. Some women get stuck, afraid to let these old roles go.

What if we did appreciate the simple things all the time, in an authentic way? What kind of an impact would that have on our lives, our work and our relationships?

In the course of our research for Find Your Strongest Life, we interviewed many women who had created a fulfilling, satisfying life. Here are four of the most distinctive pieces of advice that were shared.

We interviewed women who had bucked the "happiness decline" and who were living lives in which they looked forward to the day ahead, they frequently got so caught up in what they were doing that they lost track of time.

To those of you reading this and thinking "I can be happier. I want to be happier in my life," here's the prescription.

If you find it hard to relate to the gradual decline in women's happiness, if you always feel focused and successful, well done to you. Just know that, in aggregate, the next generation of women doesn't feel as you do.

Over the last 40 years or so, life is not trending toward more fulfillment for women; life is, in most ways we can measure, becoming more draining instead.