I default to thinking of happiness as grand—often achieving a goal I've been working towards for years, for example.

The big moments garner happiness and nostalgia because they were critical building blocks of who I became. Despite creating feelings of joy, these are outliers in a holistic view of life.

99% of your time isn't those ten happiest memories.

It's little moments strung back-to-back for years.

Walking outside, viewing a sunset, eating a home-cooked meal, spending time with family, dancing. (These are just mine, insert your own!)

So, happiness can be found in the monumental, but it's often not.

And that's a good thing.

Experiencing little moments is trivial compared to the handful of big events we find throughout our lives. It's often as simple as going outside.

And as a final question...

If you could observe the total happiness you'll experience in this life, which portions of the pie would be the largest?

Would it be those significant accomplishments?
Or would it be the daily moments added together consistently over decades?