What Happiness Means and How to Achieve It, The Idler

What's the key to a happy life? It's a question that's vexed humanity for centuries, played out in philosophical tracts, literary tomes, and scientific theories. This January, head to the Idler Academy for their take on the matter, and a talk aptly entitled 'What Happiness Means and How to Achieve It.’

Chaired by Woman’s Hour’s Jane Garvey, the event sees Rachel Kelly and Anthony Seldon in conversation. Kelly is an experienced Times journalist who works closely with mental health charities. Vice-president of United Action and ambassador for SANE, she’s also the author of Black Rainbow: a personal account of depression which recounts the role that poetry played in her recovery. Her newest book Walking On Sunshine: 52 Small Steps to Happiness is a charming guide to everyday wellbeing, illustrated by the cartoonist Jonathan Pugh.

Anthony Seldon is perhaps most well known for being the headmaster who introduced wellbeing lessons to his school’s curriculum. Alongside that, he’s also the co-founder of Action for Happiness and the author of more than forty books including Beyond Happiness, a guide for a fulfilled life.

It’s hard to think of two people better equipped to explore what we mean by happiness, and how best that state of contentment can be attained.