You don’t need immense wealth or remarkable achievements to experience true happiness. Sometimes, even the simplest of gestures—like a kind word or a piece of chocolate—can spark a delight as profound as winning a grand championship. The following stories about happiness demonstrate that no act, however small, is insignificant.

• I have always felt like a failure to my parents because they are so wonderful and loving, yet my grades are always the worst. But when I got a really high score in my National exam granting me access to any college that I choose to go to was the best moment ever. Telling them that I was able to accomplish something by my own was just the best. © zlMayo / Reddit
• I’m 42, I don’t have kids, so I’m not around them often. Went for a hike last weekend along the coast, in the sun, with my best friend, her husband, and their 3-year-old son. He held my hand the whole hike! He was so happy to see me, and I can’t wait to be his fun auntie and make more memories together! Then we had delicious burgers and that made me happy too. © lynxpoint / Reddit
• I always leave a tip for petrol station attendants, even though some people I know think it’s not necessary, that it’s their job. But last time I didn’t have any cash on me, so I decided to just buy a bun with chocolate at the same petrol station and treat the petrol station attendant. He just glowed! I haven’t seen these genuinely happy eyes in an adult for a long time. © Oksaniaga / Pikabu

• I got a beautiful new manicure. There was absolutely no reaction from my husband and children, they didn’t even notice it. I went to throw out the trash, and a man asked me to give him the bag of bottles. I handed him the bag, and he froze for a second and admiringly said, “I’ve never seen such beautiful nails in my life! It’s not a manicure, it’s poetry…” He even bowed with delight, and I lived on the energy of this compliment for 2 more days. © Mamdarinka / VK
• When I was 10 years old, my parents asked me to clear out the weeds that had taken over our backyard. It was going to take a while because of how crazy it was, but I was taking even longer because I was so distracted by the cute puppy our next-door neighbor had. I found out that his parents were going to take him back to the shelter because their son wasn’t taking good care of him like he promised. They offered to sell him to me for $20, and I had that saved up, so I went back and forth begging my parents if we could get him. They finally caved and he became ours. I named him Snoopy and have never been as happy as I was that day. I was the only child, so I looked so much forward to having a dog to play with and go on adventures with. It’s my favorite memory because he meant so much to me, for almost 17 years he was a part of my life. © -eDgAR- / Reddit

• My pregnant wife and 9-year-old daughter requested breakfast for dinner, so I made a big batch of scrambled eggs with buttery toast and turkey bacon. I proceeded to serve my girls their plates and hang out with them on the couch. My daughter gave me a big hug and told me how good dinner was and thanked me for cooking for her. My wife told me how much she appreciated me as she finished her dinner; with them both telling me how much they loved me and telling me that I take good care of them. I didn’t come from the best family or have the happiest childhood, and I like to think that I’ve broken the cycle with my own family. I feel like the richest man on the planet. Life is good, and I didn’t think I’d ever have half of what I have. © Domdidntwakeup / Reddit
• When my brother and I were little, our mum would perform “miracles” for us. She would explain that she was a magician, ask us to close our eyes, and put on a little show. We would close our eyes, and Mum would start her “magic” — she would rub our palms and soon a small chocolate bar would appear in them. I still remember how much joy and happiness it brought us. I believed it was magic then. And we constantly begged her to make “magic” for us. Now I understand that we didn’t have much money then and even this tiny chocolate bar was a lot to my mother and father. I am grateful to them for that. © Overheard / Ideer

• When I was 6 years old, I went to a children’s camp for the first time. It was very good! Lots of clubs, and a huge, well-maintained territory. Alas, I got very sick. I had a high fever. I remember lying on a hospital bed unconscious. Then I opened my eyes and, as if in a haze, I saw my mum! My parents had to go on a business trip, there were no mobile phones at that time. But Mum, sensing something wrong, came over, and I was very happy. © Overheard / Ideer
• The day I realized that the friend who had helped me through my first breakup, the friend who offered me a place to stay when the alternative was for me to go back to my country of origin and my abusive parents, the friend who helped me through all my anxiety attacks and lows from depression — was actually the guy I had fallen in love with over all the time we had been friends.
  Edit: We’re still together, btw. © Rori_Sparrow / Reddit
• My parents gave me an old one-bedroom apartment. I was weeping with happiness. I did the repairs myself and tried to make it cozy, and my dad helped me. And then finally, when everything was done, I ran out to the stairwell to chat with a neighbor and forgot to close the door. I was away only for 5 minutes, but when I came back, the neighbor’s cat had already settled on my sofa. And it felt so good: even the cat seemed to appreciate my new nest. © Not everyone will understand / VK

• 2 weeks ago, I went to a restaurant to get takeout and stumbled upon their trivia night. I love trivia, and I used to play it a lot in college. I wasn’t planning to stay, but I thought, “Why not? I’m already here!” I had a good time. Not only that, but I was stressing out about work, and trivia took my mind off of work stuff for an hour. I noticed I felt somewhat lighter afterward I wasn’t able to make it out last week, but I went tonight and had fun. I’m trying to do more stuff outside of work these days. © 58lmm9057 / Reddit
• I never wanted children. I married a woman with 2 grown kids (they were 17 and 21 when we married), and 9 years later, my stepdaughter presented me with my first grandchild. While my daughter was pregnant, my wife was telling me that I was going to love the baby, all this stuff that I’d never experienced and never expected. My attitude was, “I’m sure I’ll have a perfectly cordial relationship with it.” Nope. Took about 6 weeks, but I fell head-over-heels for the little girl, as well as her sister, and my son’s daughter as well. I have 3 granddaughters, and it’s been amazing. Total shock for me when I realized just how much I loved it. © dramboxf / Reddit
• Once a year, when I’m on holiday, I come to my dad’s home village. And as soon as I cross the threshold of my father’s home, it’s like years of my age disappear! Daddy is big and strong, and I’m his little girl, whom he still spoils. And then I’ll go to my girlfriends, who also took a holiday, and here we are 15 again! While we are together, there are no worries, no mortgages, no jobs, no husbands, no kids. There’s just us and the so long awaited communication of 4 silly girls who are now over 30. I will go there again soon. In my home village, I am young and carefree, the world is huge, and my whole life is ahead of me. But it’s so sad to return to the noisy city afterward. © Lozbenidze / Pikabu

• I live on the East Coast. My family lives on the West Coast. I told my parents I was coming home to visit them. I told my older sister the dates I would be in town. She lives about 7 hours away from my parents. She told me she wasn’t able to come up and see me because she had to work. At the time, she was a single mom. I said next time I’ll see her. I flew down and met up with my mom at the airport. I passed by the pillar at the airport. A person jumped out behind the pillar and surprised me. It was my sister! She came to visit me for the weekend. It was the best surprise gift she gave me. © Alice Baker / Quora
• My family has a genetic disease called Loeys-Dietz syndrome, also known as Familial Aortic Dissection Disorder. Basically, at any point in our life (but usually between the ages of 45-60), our aorta can basically decide to split and burst. While it is typically something that you worry about later in life, our family has historically been affected by it at a young age. The chances of inheriting the gene are 50/50. You either have it or you don’t. I just heard back! I don’t have the gene. I’ve lived with this for 15 years! Getting regular echocardiograms, CT scans, etc. I always lived under the assumption that I had it and it would get me. But not anymore! © TNPossum / Reddit
• I got married 4 months back. I work for a software company and I used to live with my parents until I got married. My in-law’s place is just 3 miles away from my parent’s place and every day, I have to pass through my parent’s place to go to work. I take an office bus every morning to go to work and at 9:30 a.m., my mom and my dad wait on the balcony to see my bus pass, and they wave at me. They just get to see me for less than 20 seconds and this makes them very happy and yes, it makes me happy too! © Unknown author / Quora

• I never thought in my life that I would cry happy tears over such a small thing: on Sunday, I squatted and stood up on my own. No help, no support. By myself! For more than 2 years, I couldn’t do it because of my illness. Previously I fell, once even under a bus. I walked for 2 years with a stick. I was in hospitals, where they said, “We can’t save your muscles. You’ll have to live like this.” When they investigated the response of nerves and muscles (for those who don’t know — they just electrocuted me), I felt nothing. I sobbed in despair, but I didn’t give up. And now I can squat!!! And it’s such a blessing! © Katausy / Pikabu
• We are soon to be married and super excited. My shoes for our wedding just arrived, and I ran to try them on for my fiancé. When I walked out, his eyes immediately met mine and I was like, “no, look at my shoes!” Only to find out, he told me his first thought was to look at my face to see what he would see on our wedding day, since I’ll be a few inches taller and my eye line won’t be where it normally is. I feel so lucky to be so in love and to have someone who truly makes me feel seen in every sense of the word. © schwee22 / Reddit
• My husband has two perfect babies that were born before we met. He got a vasectomy after, and we are all very close. After a year and half of dating, we decided we’d like a baby that belonged to both of us. But reversing a vasectomy is crazy expensive, money we don’t have. Like, about 10k. I told myself if we weren’t able to start trying by next summer, I’d pull the plug and be happy with the kiddos we have and be ok with freedom in our early 40s. Recently, we found a clinic charging about 3k for a reversal. I get a 3k bonus in June. Feels like fate. © milliemallow / Reddit

While these people found happiness in the small things around them, more Redditors found joy by doing a home makeover. Check it out.