Want a happier life? Many people assume that material possessions are essential to securing happiness, but this couldn't be farther from the truth.  In fact, here are two rules of thumb for achieving a more fulfilling life: 1. Use things, not people. 2. Love people, not things. It goes without saying that using people -- especially by trifling with their feelings -- is unacceptable. Save for cheating, stealing, or inflicting physical harm, taking advantage of others is the surest way to run your relationship with them into the ground. Now, just because you use things doesn't mean you have to place your happiness in them.  Material stuff -- from fancy cars to high-end watches-- serve to make us look stylish and our lives easier in many ways.  But such things wear and tear. No sooner do you get excited about owning the object than you're already planning what you'll buy next. Indeed, the novelty of owing stuff is only ephemeral.  A n...