Musings on Happiness

As all who cracked open their copies of Nicomachean Ethics know quite well, the issue of happiness is one that is discussed at length, and one of staggering complexity as well. With issues ranging from what can be defined as good to what kind(s) of good comprise happiness and and what capacities, Aristotle's lengthy writings on teh subject shed a new (albeit complicated) light on a concept which is known of by nearly all, but, we learn, truly understood by very few.
As I read the first twelve chapters of Book 1, I became intrigued by Aristotle's discourses on the role of action in the achievement of happiness. About halfway through the reading (and also, to an extent, in the first few paragraphs), Aristotle describes at length the role of actions in both reaching "the good" and in cultivating personal happiness. Aristotle states that, in order for happiness to be reached, actions must be aimed at the highest good. This highest good differs from action to action; in military science, it may be victory, in medicine, health, etc. But through all of the particulars described, the necessity of action remains a pervasive theme.
This sparked a few questions with me as I read. As action was continually discussed, I began to consider its role in happiness with respect to the good that it aimed at. It seemed as if the analagous and dialectical relationship between the two suggested a relationship of potentiality and actuality, with good existing in a state of potentiality, and happiness being a product of its being brought into actuality through virtuous actions. Although Aristotle rejects the concept of a Platonic "form" of happiness, it is nonetheless an intangible quality of certain things, and therefore action must be taken to reach it. Take, for example, a person who is born with a highly generous spirit and, by good fortune, is afforded a great deal of wealth when they are born. If this person never chooses to act on the generous spirit that they harbor, then it is an entirely negligible and useless quality. Though it may be good in and of itself, it exists only as the potential for good, and therefore requires action to bring said good into actuality.

This is all basically spur-of-the-moment conjecture, so please comment with any ideas that may support these thoughts, or illuminate their flaws and shortcomings.