It’s one of life’s biggest questions: how can you achieve, and maintain, happiness? I’m sure many of us can think of things that would cheer us up – winning the lottery, being Paul Mescal’s girlfriend, an asteroid striking Elon Musk, the invention of a healthy cigarette, etc etc – but sadly, there’s often little we can do to make these sorts of dreams reality.

But the good news is that there are things you can do to improve your mood, whether it’s something as simple as taking the time to enjoy a good coffee or giving your mindset a radically optimistic shake-up. We asked four of the most well-adjusted members of the Dazed team for their best advice on how to be happy. We’re often bewildered by their sunny demeanors, warm smiles and positive outlooks on life. So we decided to ask them, out of genuine curiosity, what makes them so... not depressed?

THOM WAITE, CONTRIBUTING FEATURES WRITER

“There’s no one simple trick (doctors hate him!) for happiness. Happiness means different things to different people, and it might even change meaning over the course of your life, depending where you’re at – geographically, financially, professionally, spiritually – who you’re surrounded by, and a bunch of other factors. I’m also going to assume, for the purpose of this article, that your basic needs are being met (think: the bottom two layers of Maslow’s hierarchy) because struggling to put food on the table is very different from feeling a bit pessimistic about the world.

“Now we have those clarifications out the way: happiness to me is more about receiving the world a certain way, than it is about bending it to your will. It’s easy to fall into negative patterns of thinking, but it’s possible to reframe a lot of things in a positive light – often this means setting aside your immediate reaction for a few seconds, which is easier said than done, but it’s a skill that you can learn over time. Example: someone cuts you off in traffic, and instead of blowing up you tell yourself that the driver was rushing to witness the birth of their first child, or they were really desperate for the toilet or something. It’s probably a total fiction, but who cares! We tell ourselves stories in order to live, laugh, love. The Stoics had this all figured out about 2,000 years ago, suggesting that we can’t always control what happens to us, but we can control how we react to it.

Look out for small creatures, spend a couple of hours outside a cafe in a city square, find a patch of dark sky and gaze up at the stars. You’re not wasting your time if it makes you happy

“On a related note: slow down. The Western world places an ever-increasing emphasis on speed and productivity, but what for? To make money to buy more time to slow down and smell the roses? You can do that now! (Again, assuming your basic needs are met.) It sounds banal, but try to find happiness in the little things. Look out for small creatures, spend a couple of hours outside a cafe in a city square, find a patch of dark sky and gaze up at the stars. You’re not wasting your time if it makes you happy. And if you see something that does make you happy – this morning I spotted a squirrel running along a fence with a nut in its mouth, trailing a branch in full leaf behind it – take note of that feeling. I feel very grateful that I get to share the universe with squirrels and stars, good books and cups of coffee, by what appears to be an unimaginably unlikely twist of fate.

“A final thought: happiness isn’t a zero sum game – in fact, it multiplies in proximity to other people’s happiness. This doesn’t mean you should isolate yourself from people who are struggling more than you (which is probably impossible anyway). What it does mean is that it’s in your self-interest to improve the conditions of others, on a local, societal, and global scale. You aren’t going to find real happiness at the expense of others.”

HALIMA JIBRIL, JUNIOR WRITER

“When I was a child, my primary school principal used to call me Smiley Jibril. I was never without a smile, and I loved absolutely everything: the clouds in the sky, the bugs on the ground and I loved school like no other. I’ve always been a really happy person until I learned when I got older that life is horrible and unfair and that things are entirely out of my control.

“Over the last few years, I’ve lost several friends and family, and it put me in a terrible depression for a while. I could barely function, and it made me feel insane because I was going insane. I used to worry about bad things happening all the time, to the point where I couldn’t enjoy anything. I would worry when I was hanging out with my friends, family and even my co-workers that they would die and I would lose them. It meant I couldn’t be present when interacting with them.

“It wasn’t until I read a newsletter by Haley Nahman, where she answered a question someone had asked her about their fears around having a miscarriage, that something shifted in my brain. Nahman had thoughtfully answered their question and remarked that, and I’m paraphrasing, “You can’t worry about what hasn’t happened yet.” Worrying about what hasn’t occurred in your life steals precious time from you, and life is short! You shouldn’t spend so much time worrying about what is not in front of you. This advice has helped invite happiness back into my life and made me more appreciative of the good things around me.

“Also, slightly off-topic, but feminist theory also makes me really happy. It has helped me challenge my thoughts about myself, desire, love, and caring for others. So, crack open some feminist theory today, my friends. You won’t regret it.”

SERENA SMITH, DEPUTY EDITOR

“Recently I smashed one of my favourite mugs. As I scooped up the broken fragments, I wished so badly that it was possible to turn the clock back by just a few moments and be more mindful and save the mug from shattering. In general, I try to live life as if I have managed to go back in time, by savouring and cherishing absolutely everything. I’m so conscious life can change in the “ordinary instant”, so I try to appreciate the present moment as much as possible.

“I should probably caveat that ‘happiness’ to me is really just ‘contentedness’. A few years ago I was definitely not happy – reeling from a brutal breakup, totally unsure of what to do with my life after graduation, depressed – and I think going through that period has given me a sense of perspective. I feel so appreciative of the sense of stability in my life today; it sounds cliché, but it regularly occurs to me that my 16-year-old self would be so chuffed with how my life currently looks: I’m able to put a roof over my head and food on the table; I live in London alongside so many of my best friends; my loved ones and I are healthy; I get to write for a living; I have enough disposable income to buy nice books and food and clothes every now and then. Teenage Serena would be thrilled.

You save yourself a lot of heartache if you take people as they are rather than dwell on how you would like them to be

“Obviously, I still get frustrated and anxious and sad. But I try to acknowledge when things are totally out of my control and take comfort in that – it’s surprisingly easy to let worries go when you accept that there’s nothing you can do about a given situation. And on the flip side, I try to take accountability when I really am to blame for my own problems, which helps me to move on from any low moments pretty quickly (and, importantly, grow as a person). I’ve also given up trying to get people to change – you save yourself a lot of heartache if you take people as they are rather than dwell on how you would like them to be. You can’t control other people; the only thing you can control is your own behaviour – just focus on that instead.

“My more practical advice is pretty banal: I try to go outside and get some steps in every day; I cook from scratch and eat as many vegetables as I can; I make a real effort to carve out time to do the things that really matter to me, like seeing my friends, calling my parents, and reading. I get excited over the little things, like the new season of My Brilliant Friend or the halloumi wrap I’m going to eat for lunch. Maybe that sounds sad. But I’m happy!”

TIARNA MEEHAN

“Contrary to popular belief I don’t think you need to move to Australia or join a run club. Maybe just go to THE club. What’s happier than 180 bpm hard trance? On that note, stop listening to sad music everyday – like once a week is fine but if you’re listening to Fiona Apple and Mitski everyday you’re obviously going to be sad.

“But in all honesty, I think because I grew up quite poor, it’s made me super appreciative of everything I have now. Even if, to a lot of people, that’s not much. I’ve had other working-class people share the same experience. So, I guess just being appreciative of what you have.

“Oh and get a super hot girlfriend – I swear by it.”