It turns out we are happier doing just about everything with other people than doing those things alone. That means that instead of writing gratitude lists or escaping to do a mindfulness meditation, we might be better off building our happiness in social ways—by making happy moments with others. Discover four ways to create true happiness by making happy moments. (You can also take this happiness quiz to understand your current happiness).

1.     Make Happy Moments Online

One thing technology does well is that it allows us to communicate with people who are not present. It allows us to share and receive messages to support each other as we build our happiness. We can reach out to friends to share our gratitude or say a kind word to someone. We can join a group aiming to do good in the world or offer advice to people who could benefit. We can also recruit our friends to engage in activities that generate happiness.

2.     Write Snail Mail to Create Moments of Connection

I do not know about you, but I love writing and receiving a handwritten piece of snail mail—a letter, postcard or note from someone I care about. At that moment, when I saw the handwriting on a postcard, I started to get giddy. I am downright delighted when I read a handwritten message from a friend or distant family member.

Please write your letters or postcards to people far away, and encourage them to do the same. This practice can generate small but meaningful moments of happiness and connection. Make it a habit to send birthday, Christmas, and congratulations cards for events. Moreover, do not forget to let them know you would love to hear from them.

3.     Volunteer With Your Friends to Create Happy Moments

We want to impact the world positively; we are unsure how. It will be boring, we think. Moreover, that may be true. I once volunteered to direct riders in a bicycle race, and it was not very interesting. However, other times I have volunteered to clear out weeds with at-risk youth or clean out the poop from the animals at a farm. Even if the task itself is tedious (or even gross), we can create happy moments when we do something good for the world, especially if we do these tasks with others. So, see if you can get friends together to do something good for the world and create special happy moments.

4.     Laugh Together to Create Happy Moments

Our happiest moments often include laughter. We can create happy moments by finding reasons to laugh. Maybe we can choose to see a funny movie. Alternatively, maybe we can choose to go to a comedy show. Alternatively, maybe we try to make our friends laugh by not taking ourselves too seriously. Whatever approach we take, laughter can turn any moment, no matter how mundane, into a happy moment. When our lives are made up of these many happy moments, we experience true happiness.