Happiness is elusive. We all want it, but it seems to slip through our fingers no matter how hard we chase it.

But what if we’re looking for happiness in all the wrong places?

What if the key to true happiness is not in grandiose, Instagram-worthy moments, but in the small, everyday signs that we’re actually, genuinely happy?

There is a Chinese saying that goes: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” For centuries, the greatest thinkers have suggested the same thing: Happiness is found in helping others.

The secret to happiness may lie in doing things to make other people happy, rather than ourselves, according to a series of five studies published in the Journal of Positive Psychology.

The findings suggest that doing things for others enhances well-being by fulfilling a psychological need for connection with others — even if that person is a stranger

Some argue that a sense of purpose is the key to healthy aging; others maintain that fun is more important.

Research bolsters the idea that purpose is highly beneficial as we age, but some research also points to pleasure as essential for healthy mood.

Creatively combining pleasure and purpose in these 7 ways might yield the best results.

We're capable of choosing what to think about and what to do in our lives.

These choices will have a significant impact on our happiness.

Each person has the opportunity to make their days happier.

Spiritual wellbeing

Physical wellbeing

Intellectual wellbeing

Relational wellbeing

Emotional wellbeing

Barring extreme circumstances, happiness originates from the inside more than the outside.

Certain personality traits such as low neuroticism, high positivity, benevolence and curiosity are closely linked to happiness.

Our personalities are not entirely malleable, but we can all do things to cultivate happiness-inducing qualities in ourselves.

• Author Tal Ben-Shahar’s new book "Happiness Studies" introduces a new interdisciplinary field of study dedicated to exploring happiness.

• The co-founder of Wholebeing Institute proposes a simple process for holistic well-being.

• The "SPIRE" strategy calls for breaking down wellness into spiritual, physical, intellectual, relational and emotional well-being.

4 ways to stop running after more and find happiness now.

• One way to feel more fulfilled is to recognize that happiness is not somewhere out there, but that it's possible to feel happy here and now.

• It can feel like doing more or having more will bring happiness, but recognizing that one is innately enough is key to wellbeing.

• Strategies that can help one recognize enough-ness include being kinder to oneself, strengthening gratitude, and embracing a growth mindset.

How do you rediscover a happier, more purpose-driven (and less productivity-obsessed) self in the wake of the pandemic? Quiz yourself alongside work futurist Dominic Price as he lays out a simple yet insightful four-part guide to assessing your life in ways that can help you reconnect with what's really important.

• Suffering is inevitable. Accepting this fact will help us in the long run

• Mandatory optimism is counterproductive

• We must come to terms with life as it is

Do you view happiness as something nebulous and hard to capture? Or are you the type of person who naturally finds joy in fleeting, everyday moments?

In 2014, two psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley, launched an online course with a lofty goal: teaching students how to be happy, through both science and practice, in just eight weeks. No big deal, right?

The amazing thing: It seemed to work.

Psychological well-being gradually increased within participants from the beginning to the end of the course. That was especially true for life satisfaction, perceived well-being, self-awareness and emotional self-regulation.

The participants in the study also reported a significant decrease in anxiety, perceived stress, negative thoughts, rumination and anger tendencies.

Over the past 10 years, numerous studies have shown that our obsession with happiness and high personal confidence may be making us less content with our lives, and less effective at reaching our actual goals. Indeed, we may often be happier when we stop focusing on happiness altogether.

Consumerism, although it provides little fixes of pleasure, is one of the worse ways to achieve lasting happiness.

The other reason we need a new kind of happiness is the epidemic of depression and anxiety.