Being happy is something we all hope and wish for. It’s why we’re so easily entranced by the idea of quick happiness ‘hacks’ and interventions; no one likes feeling sad and downtrodden. And in an era when the news seems perennially gloomy, the idea of being able to feel happy all the time sounds pretty damn good.

But it’s only when you really stop to think about happiness as a concept that you realise it’s not so simple. It’s easy to look back at moments with rose-tinted glasses or imagine a future where everyone’s living their best life, and certainly, there are moments when everything feels great. But no one can be happy all of the time.

What we can aim for, however, is contentment. Instead of the joy or excitement we associate with happiness, contentment isn’t necessarily the absence of negative emotions but more the notion of feeling satisfied and comfortable with how life is going. It’s happiness without all the sunshine and rainbows – a more realistic portrayal of what we all want.

It’s a state the experts refer to as ‘good psychological wellbeing’ – a headspace where you might not be totally free of anxiety, sadness or anger, but one where you are generally happy with how life is going and experience more ‘positive’ emotions than ‘negative’ ones.

4 genuinely effective, science-backed ways to feel more content, according to a happiness lecturer