When I get that new car, I'll be happy. When I graduate, we will have more time. When the student loans are paid, life will be better. When I find the right person to marry, life will be great. When we can get our own house, our family will be more peaceful.
Happiness always seems to be just over the next hill, around the next bend.
But it's a cruel trick. Research shows that each person has a characteristic level of contentment. Learning the Lesson I first learned this lesson about happiness when I took a teaching job right out of college. The school where I taught was divided by serious strife. My troubled peers insisted that certain things must change in order for them to be at peace.