First off, it's hard to just be happy. When you're happy, it's more of a collection of other things.
You're excited.
Hopeful.
Productive.
And a ton of other synonyms a quick thesaurus check could generate. Happiness is just a bubbling collection of these feelings when you know life is going right.
So a how to be happy would really be: how to do life right.
I don't think any one person is qualified to say how to do life correctly.
Although to be fair, if my sweet idol - Ms. Amy Poehler - came to me and directed me towards a life of veganism, I would do it.
I believe each person has their own way of doing their life. The degree of success they do this in depends on them. And by how they judge it.
Sometimes I feel my life is slipping apart, other times it is slipping together.
How I Slip My Life Together:
I workout. A lot. Almost everyday.
I track my calories and eat healthy through MyFitnessPal. (Mostly healthy. Sometimes Mom makes pizza, you know.)
I have begun growing plants. In winter. It combats the sadness from the lack of sunlight and heat and warmth and goodness.
I have a daily morning routine. I wake up too early, do two Spanish lessons in Duolingo, then do my day. I successfully start my mornings by bettering my life.
I volunteer. One hour each week, I shelve and pull books at my local library. It's therapeutic, I don't have to talk to anyone, and I leave feeling as if I am a better person. Whether or not I actually am.
I can't say I'm more social exactly, but I do talk to more to people I only considered acquaintances. Turns out, most people seen on a regular basis enjoy some form of small talk. Turns out, I like it too.
I keep my room tidy. Cleanliness is next to devil worshipping.
I drink a ton of water. Who knew that hydrating could be so relaxing?
I make self care a priority. I actually floss daily. I wash my face twice a day. These little actions add up into one big puddle of put together.
I don't know what will work for you. But these are my suggestions. In case you don't actually want to read the long version of what I wrote, here is the cliff notes:
Take care of yourself and put together a daily routine. Volunteer, exercise, talk to people.
Life always gets better.