BAKERSFIELD, CA. - The holiday season is supposed to be joyous, but with the stress of parties, cooking and shopping, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and forget the happiness.
For this special report I set out to find the key to happiness, even amid a busy schedule.
I asked our viewers to nominate people who always seem to have a smile on their face and a kind word to say, then picked a few (and picked their brains) about why they're so happy.
Whether you are searching the internet, or perusing the book store, you'll find hundreds of researchers and writers have taken on the task of determining the key,.or rather, the steps to happiness.
"I think I'm my happiest when i'm doing things for other people," said Tony Moreno.
"When you want to just... ahhhhh! smile instead," said Sheryl Graab.
"Happiness is something you have to work at," said Amanda Klawitter.
According to some of the 605 million links you'll find if you Google "how to be happy", there are 12 steps, seven steps, make that, "10 scientifically proven ways to be incredibly happy."
According to Market Data Enterprises, the self-imporvement market is a $10 billion industry.
But can you really find the secret to happiness in these pages?
Well, according to experts, and regular happy people, yes.
Tony Moreno is a photography enthusiast, Valley Clean Air Now project consultant and notably happy guy.
"It's a matter of choice, of how you're going to face each day," said Moreno. "it's kind of like you get up, you put your pants on, your shoes on, and then you put your vest of kindness or happiness out there."
"There are days that you don't wake up feeling as chipper, that's why we pray, give me strength when times are tough," he said.
Moreno finds happiness spending time just doing what he loves.
"I could sit for hours out here, on a bank, and just wait for wildlife," Moreno said.
Your leisure time might be better spent on a bank too. Investing your time in meaningful activities is one of the oft-listed "steps" to happiness.
"Iwas thinking about it, 'why am i happy?'" "I don't even know," said Graab. "I just like to do, I like to help people, and I like to volunteer all the time."
Volunteering is another step, and one that Graab has down pat.She is a long-time volunteer and troup leader with the local girl scouts.
But even happy people face setbacks. A few months ago, Graab was diagnosed with Acute Myloid Leukemia. Bbut she doesn't dwell on the negative, another common trait of happy people.
"So I'm going to have this for awhile, and it's horrible and awful, but i have to focus my attention elsewhere, to something I have control over and some way i can give back."
Just down the street from the girl scouts office, you're sure to recognize the guy in the black cowboy hat. You can always find him dancing on the street corner, attracting plenty of approving honks from drivers.
But what keeps him dancing all day long?
Priest Morrison said the secret is "no drinking, no smoking, no drugs, lots of Jesus."
To Morrison, happiness is "other people's smiles, that's the best way i can define it."
For Katie Romley, you might say happiness is her profession.
"It might be you want to reorganize your schedule because you are being pulled in so many different directions," she said. "And before you realize it, weeks have gone by and you are not doing the things that make you feel whole, you are just doing the things you have to do."
She helps people simplify their lives, focus on what's important and find more happiness.
"I think we can't trick ourselves into being happier, but we can connect the life that we want with what we have now and actually tangibly look at the changes we have to make to get there," Romley said.
That's a step that Klawitter took a few years ago when she and her mom went into business, opening House of Flowers.
"I think my happiness just comes from a series of small things just simply noticing, what a blessing life in general is."
And being surrounded by beauty certainly doesn't hurt Klawitter's mood.
"Being a small part of people's lives, sending out flowers, being a small part of their big days, it's very rewarding," Klawitter said.
And in case you're wondering, no, you cannot buy happiness.
Studies say that once you surpass the poverty level, extra money does not do much to raise your happiness level.