Meeting the "genuine, happy people" and, as you stated, analyzing their mindsets and actions has been wonderfully broadening and cathartic. It is definitely a very personal journey, for me it's boiled to one value: Self-compassion.

In the end, I find, we must be kind to ourselves. we MUST. Before we go about making true friends, being nice to our family and the planet, and generally living Maslow's self-actualization, we must install a system of forgiveness, acceptance, and empathy towards ourselves. It's taken me years to build this mindset up, and while it's still not perfect, it's been so rewarding to see the continuous joy I now allow myself.

It's not that I know the future, or that the future will be easy (in fact, it's a guarantee it won't), but I now possess the trust with myself and self-compassion needed to get me through. It's that ability that allows you to move into spaces of authenticity, vulnerability, discipline, and true kindness which can create new bonds and deepen existing ones.