How to Attract Happy Fortune: 5 Simple Steps for a More Joyful Life

You know, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we chase happiness—or what some might call attracting a happy fortune. It can feel as mysterious and unpredictable as trying to pick the perfect character in a video game before you’ve even played. I remember when Borderlands 3 came out, I spent an absurd amount of time just staring at the Vault Hunter selection screen. The classic dilemma: who do I choose? The community was buzzing with opinions, but one piece of writing really stuck with me. The reviewer said something that changed my perspective: “There's no way to truly know if all four Vault Hunters equally stack up until folks have had time to put a substantial amount of hours into playing as each one, but for once, I don't feel the need to dissuade first-time players from one or two of the options. Each Vault Hunter is fun to play because they all feel powerful and can stand on their own or make meaningful contributions to a team, and it feels rewarding to learn and master each of their respective abilities.” That got me thinking. Attracting a joyful life isn’t about finding the one “correct” path everyone says you must take. It’s about understanding that there are multiple valid, powerful ways to build your own happiness, and the real reward comes from engaging deeply with the one you choose. So, how do we attract that happy fortune? Here are five simple steps I’ve practiced, borrowing a bit from that idea of choosing your character and mastering their skills.

The first step is all about inventory. You’ve got to audit your current life like you’d audit a cluttered backpack in a game. What’s weighing you down? I don’t mean a physical list, though that can help—I mean a mental one. For two weeks, I carried a tiny notebook and just jotted down moments that drained my energy and moments that gave me a boost. It was shocking. I found that roughly 70% of my low-energy moments came from just three sources: doomscrolling social media for about 90 minutes a day, saying “yes” to commitments I resented, and a toxic morning commute. The point isn’t the exact number, it’s the pattern. You can’t attract new, joyful energy if your psychic inventory is full of junk. Start by identifying and discarding one major energy drain. For me, it was installing a website blocker to limit social media to 20 minutes a day. It created immediate space, like clearing out your inventory to make room for a legendary weapon.

Next, you have to actively choose your “build.” In that Borderlands review, the beauty was that every character was viable and fun. Your life is the same. Society shouts that happiness looks one specific way: a certain job, a specific relationship timeline, a particular body. It’s nonsense. I spent years trying to build a “meta” life based on what I thought would look successful. It made me miserable. The shift happened when I asked, “What feels powerful to me?” Maybe your build is about creativity, or community care, or quiet solitude. Define what “powerful” means in your own life. For me, it meant prioritizing creative writing, even if it wasn’t lucrative, because mastering that skill felt inherently rewarding. It’s about committing to your chosen path with the confidence that, like a well-designed Vault Hunter, it is capable and strong on its own merits.

Step three is where you stop planning and start the grind of practice. Knowledge is nothing without consistent action. The reviewer emphasized the reward in learning and mastering abilities. You attract fortune by engaging deeply with your chosen practice. Want more joy through music? Don’t just buy a nice guitar; commit to 25 minutes of focused practice daily. Seeking fortune in relationships? Master the ability of active listening—put your phone away and give someone your full attention for one conversation each day. I applied this to mindfulness. I didn’t just read about meditation; I used a simple app and did it for 10 minutes, every single morning, for 66 days straight until it stuck. The fortune isn’t in the outcome; it’s in the dignity and growth of the daily effort. The joy seeps in through the cracks of your consistent practice.

Then, we have to talk about your party. Even the most solo-capable Vault Hunter makes meaningful contributions to a team. Your happy fortune is multiplied by the people you surround yourself with. This isn’t about having hundreds of friends; it’s about curating a small, supportive team of 3 to 5 people who resonate with your “build.” I consciously invested in friends who celebrated my creative pursuits rather than questioned their practicality. I also learned to be a meaningful contributor to them. Happiness is a co-op campaign, not a solo speedrun. Share your resources, celebrate their victories, ask for help when you’re downed. This reciprocal energy creates a powerful feedback loop of support and joy that no amount of solo grinding can replicate.

Finally, you must embrace the respec. In games, you can re-spec your skill points if your build isn’t working. Life needs the same flexibility. What attracted fortune to you at 25 might not work at 40. The goal isn’t to find a perfect, static formula. It’s to develop the wisdom to evaluate your joy levels regularly and the courage to reallocate your time and energy. About a year ago, I realized my build was too heavy on work and too light on play. I “re-specced” by delegating two minor work tasks and using that freed-up five hours a week to learn pottery. It was messy and I was terrible at it, but the sheer, unproductive fun of it injected a new kind of fortune into my life. The process of learning something new with zero pressure reminded me that joy is often in the attempt, not the mastery.

So, that’s the journey. From auditing your inventory to choosing your build, from the daily grind to building your team, and having the courage to respec when needed. This is how you attract a happy fortune. It mirrors that lesson from the Vault Hunters: there is no single, objectively correct path that you must be dissuaded from. There are multiple paths to a powerful and joyful life. The fortune flows not from picking the “best” one, but from the engaged, mindful, and consistent effort you put into learning and mastering the path you’re on. Your joyful life is your own character to build and play. Stop worrying about the optimal meta, and start playing your own game with intention. The reward, I’ve found, is a deeper, more resilient kind of happiness that you’ve built yourself, skill point by skill point.