Sandra is feeling sorry for herself. Everything in her life seems to be going wrong. But as she passes a bookshop a title catches her eye: Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier. Could this be the answer to her problems?

The book is by Oprah Winfrey and Arthur C Brooks, a professor of business studies at Harvard UniversityOne of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the USA. . It argues that most people chase an idea of happiness that is unrealistic, and that no one can ever be completely happy. There are, however, guidelines we can follow to make our lives better.

1 Questionable quest If the secret of pure happiness existed, someone would have found it by now. The best we can hope for in life is to become happier.

2 Feeling ceiling It is a mistake to think of happiness as the warm feeling you get when things are going well. It is a combination of three longer-lasting things: enjoyment, satisfaction and meaning.

3 Buoyant enjoyment Pleasure on its own is short-lived. But if you add the company of other people and share a meaningful experience with them, it becomes lasting enjoyment.

4 Pain gain Satisfaction comes from achieving something you have worked hard for, overcoming difficulty and even pain.

5 Gleaning meaning A sense of meaning is the most important component of happiness. It involves having a purpose in life, believing that your life matters and recognising that things happen for a reason.

6 Problem goblins Life is full of problems and it is foolish to imagine that we can achieve happiness by eliminating them all. We actually need negative experiences and emotions to achieve enjoyment, satisfaction and meaning, so we should see them as a challenge which will help us learn and grow.

7 Checklist inspection In order to make your life better, you need to assess where you are at the moment. "Ask yourself whether you're settling for mere pleasure or doing the work you need for real enjoyment. Are you making the sacrifices necessary to accomplish satisfying things? Do you have a secure sense of your life's coherence, purpose, and significance?"

8 Crucial quartet The happiest people share four habits: "They develop and abide by a faith or philosophy of life; they maintain a strong connection to family; they stay close to friends; and they strive to serve others through their work."

Yes: Most of the world's great thinkers have agreed. Thomas AquinasOne of the most important medieval thinkers. The Italian priest called Aristotle "the Philosopher" and worked to unite pagan Greek philosophy with Christian principles. argued that God allowed bad things to happen so that good could come of them "for the benefit and harmony of the universe."

No: Unhappiness is not a good thing in itself and generally there is far too much of it. The real secret of happiness is to limit your expectations of life so that you are never deeply disappointed.

Or... To be unhappy you have to be happy. Nobody is unhappier than someone who has known great happiness and had it snatched away from them: other people do not know what they are missing.