The pursuit of happiness

But all too often it's elusive. We can experience it when we least expect it and, rather like the air that we breathe, we are not conscious that we need it, or perhaps had it, until it disappears.

"Happiness is as invisible as electricity and just as powerful," says Lois Blyth, author of The Secrets Of Happiness: How To Love Life, Laugh More, And Live Longer.

"We can feel its effects and see its impact but everyone's description of what it does will be different.

"When happy people smile or speak, their radiance can light up a room.

"When we are happy, we glow and we are beautiful and more things feel possible."

There is, of course, no single path to happiness because everyone views the world slightly differently, and each person's road to contentment is unique.

But the happiness habit is an easy one to acquire, Blyth believes.

"The difficult bit for some people is choosing to step away from unhappiness and deciding wholeheartedly, and with total commitment, that happiness is something that they really do want - and that they deserve.

"The challenge for others is choosing to step out of the place of comfort and familiarity and to start experiencing new challenges that inspire them to live their life in a different and vibrant way."

It may require a shift of mindset , she says, to adopt a new way of seeing the events in your life, or a willingness to let go of the past, and perhaps to face responsibility for some of the things which have happened, as well as an acceptance that fate plays a part in everyone's lives.

"The moment we chose to invest importance in things that are outside our control, we put our happiness at risk.

"We begin to focus on what we want and when we do not get it, we feel disappointment, or a sense of loss and failure.

"If the goal or desire is important to us and is closely aligned to our sense of who we are as individuals, it can be hard not to feel diminished when things don't quite turn out as planned.

"In low moments, it can feel as if happiness will never return."

The danger, she warns, is that discontent can become a familiar reflex and we can drift along in a state of grumbling dissatisfaction, sometimes for years, blaming circumstances, waiting for something to happen, and finding every excuse not to make changes which could transform life and make ourselves happier.

Instead, Blyth urges, we should take six easy steps to get the happiness habit.

Sensing happiness A beautiful sunset glimpsed on the way home from work, a song which recalls a memory of an enjoyable social event or the perfume of a flower which transports us back in time to a holiday can make us feel happy - even for just a second.

"Much of what makes us happy is experienced via our senses," says Blyth.

"Once you understand the memories and triggers that boost your experience of happiness, you can begin to make changes to the way you live to enhance those," she explains.

"We're used to using speech to express our thoughts and feelings, but stimulating our other senses can help us experience an immediate mood change."

"Consider what happiness feels like to you, what colour it is, and what it sounds or tastes like.

"If you love music, make a CD full of your favourite happy songs," she suggests.

"If happiness is the colour green, make time to go for a country walk. Small changes can build and affect your happiness ratio."

Think like a lottery winner If you ever have dreams of winning the lottery, you imagine all sorts of things you might get because you would have no financial constraints.

But, Blyth points out, material possessions are passive and cannot love us, talk to us or make us laugh, and have the potential to leave us comparing what we have with others, which can feed dissatisfaction, and encourage us to feel nothing will ever be enough.

Instead, use your imagination to work out how you can 'change' yourself and start becoming the person you ideally want to be.

"Unlock your adventurous side and ask yourself what you are putting off doing until the conditions are right and that you could actually start doing now," she says.

"Think what you could do for someone else which would make them feel as if it was their lucky day and also contemplate in what ways you already are a 'winner' and lucky in your own life."

Face the fear The pathways to happiness appear in many guises, and not all of them are immediately recognisable as ways you would want to venture down, she says.

"Often they may look strange, threatening, full of obstacles, too far from home, and generally too frightening to take," says Blyth.

"But happiness is closely related to feelings of positive self-worth and achievement - we need to take calculated risks in order to grow and develop self-respect.

"Happiness is a large emotion - full of life. It doesn't thrive in situations where overthinking stifles action, or where resentment and disappointment close the heart to the possibility of feeling joy."

She advises analysing whether it is a fear of something real or imaginary that is holding you back from taking a new opportunity or path.

Take time to work out what you have control over that you can change and what you have no control over so cannot change, she advises, and then score, on a scale of 0-10, how happy a new decision will make you.

Finally, aid your final decision by considering whether it will lead you to step towards or a step away from further happiness.

Healing hug Getting physical with someone else can reduce stress levels, reduce cortisol levels and increase the production of oxytocin, a 'happy' hormone, in the body, says Blyth.

"Make a mental note to hug a friend, get a massage, hold hands with a loved one, stroke a pet, make love, go dancing, and generally to be more physical," she says.

"As little as 30 minutes of exercise has been shown to lift a depressed mood or enhance happiness and self-confidence.

"Exercise is a great way to lift your mood and balance your emotions."

Reset grumble reflex Listen to yourself talking, in the same way you would listen to a GPS navigation system, says Blyth.

"Imagine what it would be like to have a grumbling GPS in your car which was always spouting negative messages: 'what a shame you didn't take another route' or 'the traffic's bound to delay us'," she suggests.

"Your mood would sink and your enjoyment would plummet. Similarly, if when you speak you tend to put a dampener on things by always seeing negatives, other people may tune out from what you say and even avoid your company."

Instead, she advises, try to always say something positive first, before negativity kicks in. Laugh at things which annoy you and try to see possibility instead of the problem. Happiness embraces opportunity and praises achievement.

Also, when you hear yourself thinking or saying passive words such as 'I wish', 'should', 'might', 'can't', swap them for more active words such as 'I can', 'I will', 'I am'. You'll feel instantly happier if your choice of language puts you in control of your life.

Don't delay Procrastination - putting off doing things - is a major enemy of happiness, says Blyth.

"It will never allow you to plan ahead with confidence, relax without guilt, or produce your best work," she says.

"The art of chronic delay is worry dressed up as fear and accessorised with avoidance, pain and guilt.

"Any pleasures in the life of a procrastinator feel stolen surreptitiously, because wherever they are and whatever they are doing, they know they should really be somewhere different, doing something else instead."

To remedy this, Blyth suggests buying a year planner and putting on tasks you would like to complete, but allow yourself double the time you think necessary to achieve each one.

If even the thought of listing the tasks is too much at first, just put on one and give yourself a start and generous finishing date.

If you find you haven't made a start as planned, don't panic, but tell yourself you have three choices: to extend the deadline, to ask someone to help you achieve it on time, or both.

Display the schedule with the start dates highlighted (hide the completion dates if they are distracting).

"Once you discover the joy of completing tasks in good time or on time, your belief in yourself will slowly change - and you will have time to be happy on your own terms," she says.

:: Information: The Secrets Of Happiness by Lois Blyth is published by Cico Books, priced £14.99. Available now Tried & tested Dance is becoming a popular form of exercise. Shereen Low tries to bring out her inner dancer with a fitness DVD inspired by the Step Up films.

What is it?

Step Up Miami Heat: Dance Workout is a fitness DVD featuring music and moves from the fourth instalment in the hugely popular Step Up series of dance films, starring Ryan Guzman and Kathryn McCormick.

Teachers on the DVD are acclaimed choreographer and dancer Bryan Tanaka, whose worked with Beyonce, Rihanna and Mariah Carey, and dancer Micki Duran, who has shown off her moves on films including Burlesque and Clueless.

The 87-minute-long DVD features four dance routines: Hip-Hop Jam, Latin Groove, Latin Hip-Hop Fusion and Hip-Hop. They are each broken down step by step before all the moves are put together for a 'performance finale' at the end of each section.

What's it like "Hip-hop is a fantastic cardio workout," says Micki Duran, and she's not kidding. From the minute you start this workout, it gets your heart pumping and you can't avoid working up a sweat, even if you keep it low impact.

Hip-Hop Jam, a fusion of dance styles, is the opening dance sequence of the DVD. It starts easily with Bryan Tanaka and Duran inviting us to "find the groove", beginning with a side step and an 'arm lock' - where both knuckles are touching each other.

It advances to more difficult moves such as the 'pony', where you make lassoing motions with your arms while galloping, which is reminiscent of Psy's Gangnam Style.

Latin Groove is a salsa and mambo-inspired dance to work the core, hips and thighs. This one is set to a slower track so it's slightly easier to learn the moves, which is followed by Latin Hip-Hop Fusion. This is an energising and lively combination of hip-hop, Afro-Cuban and samba moves.

Lastly, there's Hip-Hop, which is by far the hardest routine, as it's a complex combination of arm and leg moves all at high energy and an incredibly fast pace.

Initially, I had to sit that stage out and just watch the dancers do their thing while I put my aching feet up and tucked into a slice of cake and a cup of tea!

This dance workout isn't really aimed at beginners as some of the arm and leg movements can be tough to pair simultaneously. They can be mastered by those who already have a basic knowledge of dance and want to pick up more moves, perhaps to show off on the dancefloor or boost a performance at auditions.

Both teachers have a great technical knowledge, and explain the moves clearly while breaking the routines down into counts of eight. They also try to make things simple while keeping moves in the hip-hop style, especially Tanaka, and they never patronise the viewer.

As you might expect from a Step Up DVD, the whole look is slick and glossy with the back-up dancers looking as if they have raided the film set's wardrobe before filming, especially Tanaka who wears cool Nike Air Jordans.

It's always good to learn some new and challenging moves and this DVD certainly provides ample opportunity for that.

:: Information: Step Up Miami Heat: Dance Workout, £15.99, is available from Amazon and other retailers.