Why is it so difficult to find happiness? Because you wait for it.

Observe yourself and you will see that this is so. You are waiting to meet the love of your life; you are waiting to meet with success; you wait for wealth and recognition to come to you, and when they do not come, you are unhappy. Some people even consult clairvoyants or astrologers who encourage them to believe that love and success will soon be theirs, that in six months or a year when a certain planetary transit or conjunction occurs, everything will change. Thus reassured, with hope renewed, they continue to wait.

Unfortunately they are deluding themselves. Happiness is not something that comes or does not come from outside ourselves. Happiness is a state of consciousness, and it depends on a correct grasp of reality. It is no good imagining that we are here on earth for no other purpose than to enjoy a life of ease, pleasure, and prosperity. We have come here in order to learn and to perfect ourselves. And how shall we ever become perfect if we are not continually given new problems to resolve? Let this be perfectly clear: the Earth is a school, and as in all schools, only those who learn and make progress can be happy. So you must not wait for happiness to come to you in the form of an agreeable encounter or improved circumstances. True and lasting happiness can only come from within, from the way we look at things.

Izvor Book 231 The Seeds of Happiness