Happiness is hard to define. However, some researchers agree that happiness can be described as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive wellbeing combined with the sense that one’s life is good, meaningful and worthwhile”.

This is perhaps a complicated way of describing the good feelings we have, feeling satisfied with life, being in a good mood, experiencing positive emotions or enjoying something.

How we experience happiness or what makes us happy can be unique to us, which is totally normal. Even how we express happiness can be individual. What is universal, however, is the benefit that happiness has on our physical and emotional lives.

Happy people are thought to be more successful, they can have more friends and build more positive relationships, they are less likely to get sick and will be better able to cope with stress and setbacks.

People can express happiness in many different ways, and these ways can be specific to that individual. Universally, it is accepted that when people are in a happy or joyful mood, they will smile or laugh. A genuine smile will reach the person’s eyes, or could be described as someone “smiling with their whole face”.

Happiness can also be considered as a feeling of contentment or satisfaction and may not result in a visual representation. Therefore, sometimes people can experience happiness without any visual emotion showing on their face.

Think of the last time you felt really happy. Write it down in boxes provided.

Think of another time you felt really happy. Write down what in the boxes provided.

Whilst we all want to be happy, it is not reasonable to expect to be happy all of the time. We will all have our good days and our bad days – this is totally normal.

There are some simple things you can try and do to boost your happiness, but instead of striving for constant happiness, take the time to appreciate your happiness when you experience it.