How to Attract Happy Fortune and Build a More Joyful Life in 7 Steps

You know, I often think about the pursuit of happiness and good fortune as a bit like playing a beloved, familiar video game. That might sound strange, but stick with me. I was recently revisiting a classic role-playing game, a faithful remake of an old favorite. As faithfully one-to-one as the remake is, there is a downside that means there isn't new gameplay content if you've experienced the story before. Any activities you find, such as cooking recipes (which do include new cooking animations), are what were in the original game, including moments you're given multiple choices to respond to. While it's still an interesting way to gauge your judgement as a bracer, there's also a more interesting reward system where you're gifted with items more regularly just by achieving incremental milestones as you're playing, so there's a little something for everyone even if you're not striving to become a Rank 1 bracer completionist. This experience got me reflecting: what if we applied this very principle to our lives? Attracting fortune and building joy isn't about waiting for one massive, story-altering plot twist. It's about recognizing the existing framework we have, making conscious choices within it, and most importantly, setting up a personal reward system that celebrates the small wins. From my own journey and research, I believe we can architect a more joyful life through seven intentional steps, transforming our daily grind into a more rewarding adventure.

The first step is all about auditing your current "gameplay." Just like in that game, you're already performing activities and facing choice moments every single day. The problem is, we often run on autopilot. I spent years doing this. It wasn't until I started a simple journaling habit—just five minutes each night—that I saw the patterns. I was making the same "dialogue choices" in my relationships, repeating the same "side quests" at work that drained my energy. You have to map what's already there. The second step is to intentionally script your "multiple choices." In the game, a choice might be how to comfort a distressed villager; in life, it's choosing between scrolling mindlessly or calling a friend, between complaining about a delay or using the time to listen to a podcast. I make it a point to identify at least three such micro-choices in my day and consciously pick the one that aligns with a more positive narrative. It's a muscle you build. The third step is where we install that "more interesting reward system." The game developers understood a fundamental truth of human psychology: regular, small rewards are incredibly motivating. We fail at this in life. We set a goal like "get happy" or "become wealthy" which is as daunting as wanting to become that Rank 1 completionist. Instead, break it down. Define what "incremental milestones" look like for you. For me, it was committing to three 30-minute workout sessions a week. The reward wasn't a six-pack; it was allowing myself to buy that new book I wanted after a month of consistency. This system creates a tangible feedback loop of fortune—you feel successful because you are achieving small, defined successes.

This brings us to the fourth step: curating your "cooking recipes." In the game, the recipes were pre-existing but the animations were new, making a routine task feel fresh. Apply this to your daily rituals. That morning coffee? Don't gulp it at the kitchen counter. Use your favorite mug, sit by a window, and truly savor it for seven minutes. You've transformed a mundane activity into a small joy. I applied this to my evening routine by replacing the last 20 minutes of screen time with analog reading, and the improvement in my sleep quality was noticeable—I'd estimate a 40% reduction in nighttime restlessness. The fifth step is about embracing the "faithful remake" aspect. You can't change your core story overnight—your personality, your past, your core circumstances. But you can remaster it with new textures of thought and lighting of perspective. This means practicing reframing. A stressful work project isn't a disaster; it's a "main story quest" that will level up your skills. I used to see networking as a chore, but I reframed it as "gathering party members" for my career journey. It sounds silly, but it works. The sixth step is crucial: don't ignore the "side quests." The game gives you items for just exploring and trying things. In life, these are your hobbies, your curiosities, that random online course, volunteering. I dedicated 2 hours a week to learning basic guitar, not to become a musician, but simply for the joy of it. These activities are the fertile ground where unexpected fortune and connections often grow. They are the antithesis of a rigid life plan.

Finally, the seventh step is to relinquish the need for "new gameplay content" to feel happy. This was a big one for me. We're conditioned to believe happiness is out there, in the next job, the next vacation, the next purchase. But like the game, the core mechanics of a good life—connection, growth, contribution, presence—are already in your original copy. The remake's beauty was in enhancing the experience of what was always there. Your pursuit isn't about adding entirely new storylines every month; it's about deepening the engagement with the storyline you're already in. By combining these steps—auditing your life, scripting choices, creating a reward system, beautifying rituals, reframing your narrative, exploring side quests, and appreciating the core game—you build a sustainable architecture for joy. Fortune, in this sense, stops being a distant treasure to be found and becomes a natural resource generated by your daily operations. You become both the player and the thoughtful designer of your experience, finding that there is, indeed, a little something for everyone in the journey itself, making the path toward a more joyful life not just a destination, but a rewarding way to travel.