Jessy Mendiola as 'Maria Mercedes'In ABS-CBN’s primetime teleserye “Maria Mercedes,” Mercedes (Jessy Mendiola) takes on all kinds of menial jobs: she sells and delivers flowers, watches and cleans cars, and cooks “love bites” or kasing-kasing. Because she focuses on helping her family, Mercedes is able to look beyond her own circumstances and maintain her bubbly, cheerful demeanor.

Dr. John Grohol, founder of PsychCentral.com, offers these tips to attain happiness without resorting to popping pills. He says: “…Keep in mind that you control only about half of your happiness level. The other half is set by genetics, the situation and the environment.”

1. Take a break from the material world.

Once you obtain enough money to pay your bills, afford some shelter and transportation, you’re pretty much set. The only two exceptions are if you give money away, or if it significantly improves your social rank. People who give money away appear to sustain greater levels of happiness over time than those who don’t.

2. Your relationships go a long way to helping you be happy.

…If you’re married, your relationship is a key component to your happiness level. Research has shown that strong social connections with others are important to our own happiness— the more of these you have, the happier you will be. And while marriage is significantly correlated with increased happiness, it has to be a strong, healthy marriage in order for that to be true.

3. Trying to enjoy yourself will result in your least amount of enjoyment.

According to research carried out by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and colleagues, you’re least likely to be happy when you’re working at trying to be happy. One of the other interesting findings from this research—watching TV is one of the most soul-sucking and depressing activities most of us engage in.

4. Being a giving person and having gratitude matter.

Selfless people tend to be happier people. This is partially because of tip No. 1, but also because when you’re focused on helping out others, you don’t spend as much time evaluating and criticizing your own life or circumstances. Research has also shown that being grateful for everything you have in your life helps you become a happier person.

5. Focus on experiences, not stuff.

People who spend their time and money on doing things together…report higher levels of happiness than those who buy a bigger house, a more expensive car or more stuff. That’s likely because our memories keep an emotional photograph of the experience…. So ditch buying so much stuff for yourself or your kids—you’re only buying artificial, temporary happiness. And remember, a healthy body complements a healthy mind. Even simple exercise can help boost a person’s mood, if only for a short while.

(Excerpted from www.huffingtonpost.com)