Read these 4 happy hacks. Then pick one and ask, “How can I really do that?”

Every day we are faced with having to make decisions for circumstances beyond our control, like being forced to switch flights because of inclement weather to get to your event in Chicago on time. These are things for which we are not directly responsible. But that’s life!

Here’s what you are responsible for, and what you can control: choosing to respond to your environment and the people in it. In other words, choosing to make wise choices.

Happy people aren’t dumb; they’re bright enough to experience greater success because they make those good choices every day, no matter what curve balls life throws their way.

To put that thought into practice, start by incorporating the habits of the happiest people into your daily routine, and watch what happens.

1. Leave the past in the rearview mirror

If you’re still obsessing over a bad decision weeks ago, you’re choosing the wrong mental path. Shark Tank mogul Barbara Corcoran says, “The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves.” Accept that in business and in life, failures are part of the learning process. Learn from your mistakes, remember the lessons, put them in the past, and move on. That’s what happy, resilient, and successful people do.

2. Surround yourself with happy and optimistic people

Seek work relationships with positive people. You’ll know them after a while; they’re the ones who go on about their business and never get sucked into negativity. While negative co-workers are complaining about trivial matters and gossiping about others, your positive peers are thinking ahead about how to improve a bad situation, taking accountability for their actions, and moving toward contributing to solutions to organizational problems.

3. Choose to live a simple and peaceful existence

The world is full of strife, conflict, and divisiveness. Social media only amplifies the diatribe that keeps people entrenched in their self-righteous, right/left ideologies while blaming anyone that doesn’t agree with them. To simplify, don’t get sucked into the vortex of other people’s unhappiness. Choose instead to live in peace — peace with others and peace with your current situation, even if where you are is not the most ideal scenario for you. Surrender to something greater than yourself and know that your time is coming. The great thing about choosing peace and being OK with your current state is that it keeps you focused and moving forward, step by step, on your current priorities in life. Peace blocks distractions that try to derail you from your big, hairy, audacious goal. Peace means minding your own business, not comparing yourself with others, and being grateful every day for the place you find yourself.

4. Live life to the fullest