For the longest time I was convinced that I was not happy unless I had a partner to share my life with. I just knew that having someone to share glorious sunrises and romantic sunsets would make me happy. I even came close to marrying someone who made me feel as if I was the happiest person on the face of the earth only to find out that it was not actually him that made me happy. This is the mistake most all of us make when we are dating and even more so when we have been married and have become accustomed to having someone around all the time then suddenly we are thrust back into this crazy dating world that has changed so much since we were gone that we need to go to Dating College to get educated and learn the lingo not to mention the new rules to even be a player in the game. OK, so you think you know the answers, what makes you happy, what will keep you happy and that special something that will attract you and keep you attracted? I think you are going to be surprised at what I have to say.

The greatest lesson I have learned if I have learned anything in my dating trials and tribulations is that I am the only person on this earth that is responsible for my happiness. The only place that happiness lives forever, with or without a partner is within you. You have the power to create and maintain your own happiness. Love is great to have and share, but in order to share what you have to offer, you must first find that happiness within yourself and the person that sees that happiness in you will want to be part of that happiness. So you see, the search and the quest for that fulfillment is endless as long as you choose not to look inside yourself.

Enjoy the journey, experience what life has to offer, always keeping your happiness in focus, first and foremost. YOU, are the reason for your happiness, let it shine, share it with the world and you will receive that happiness back in your heart ten fold.

Linda Reeves is an advice columnist for http://www.cupidsblackbook.com she is 47 years old and lives in the American Midwest.

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