“The most important factor for happiness, according to any survey data in which people are asked to report how happy they are, is always something involving our relationships with other people. Those who speak to neighbours regularly, or are in committed relationships, for example, tend to be happier.

Next comes health. Both physical and mental health are important, yet it is mental distress that debilitates our ability to find happiness the most; much more than people expect. Then, it is having a sense of meaning and purpose in life, which is often bound up with helping others, or having a spiritual or religious path in life.

A person’s personality, such as their levels of conscientiousness or extraversion, is another strong predictor of happiness. Relatedly, whether a person acts in line with their beliefs and values, which is what psychologists call authenticity, is also an essential ingredient.

Some of my best published work highlighted the role of personality in our happiness. In a key piece of research I undertook with colleagues, we showed that small changes in our personalities were more strongly linked to changes in happiness and wellbeing than changes to our social and economic circumstances. We then went on to demonstrate that personality – which most people presume to be largely fixed across life – is actually just as likely to change as how much a person earns.

Yet, sad as it is, most of our energy goes into obtaining increases to our income, than working intentionally on ourselves.

The trouble is that for me, and frankly for most people I know, it is difficult to put time and energy into our relationships, health, and personality. We all know they are important, but on a daily basis, we must somehow deal with encouragement and temptations to do things that have minimal benefit to our relationships, health, and personality.

Sometimes what we are encouraged and tempted into doing can be plain destructive to these areas of our lives. This is not to say that there is no individual choice, and that happiness is impossible. But we have to recognise that the environment we navigate each day makes it much more difficult than it otherwise could be.”

This is a short excerpt from my book published in 2022 – A Journey For Happiness: The Man Who Cycled to Bhutan – I’ve still got copies available and it has loads of insights into happiness. If you live in the UK you can buy a copy here for £10.