The happiest people aren't those who have the best of everything . If that were the case, you would never see millionaire athletes and celebrities getting into crippling debt, being arrested for drugs or driving drunk, settling nasty divorces with their spouses, or, in the worst cases, committing suicide. Instead, the happiest people make the best of everything they have.  The key to being happy is striking the right balance between the desire to acquire more and achieving a state of contentedness with what you already hold in your possession. Some people can't help themselves. They want a brand new car every year or two. They want the latest iPhone as soon as it comes out, even if their version still works perfectly. I'm the polar opposite: I use things until they're almost falling apart. I held on to my last car for 10 years, and it still pained me to part with it. The only thing that prompted me to sell it was the fact it was mysteriously hydroplaning in ...

Many of us get so caught up striving for bigger, better things that we sometimes fail to appreciate what we already have in front of us. We yearn for bigger things with more bells and whistles -- the latest smartphone, a newer car, a snazzier watch -- when the stuff we currently have works well and may not even need replacing. The same goes for finding a new, better job. We mustn't fall into a pattern of simply wanting the next best thing because we've grown bored with what we already own. If the items have seen better days -- if wear and tear is in evidence -- then it makes perfect sense to make an upgrade. Otherwise, why make the switch? I'm all for aiming for better things and opportunities, but we needn't get carried away. I have a friend who changes jobs every two years because he gets bored that quickly. I also know several people who flip cars and houses every so often to feed their compulsion for change and newness. At the end of the day, they're our...