From getting the dream job to having the perfect relationship, we are obsessed with achieving happiness. But our biology means this search is futile.

No matter how hard we try to maintain that buzzing feeling of joy, our bodies are out to thwart us, says Dr Helen Driscoll, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sunderland.

That’s because humans have evolved to have a “set point” of happiness. So whether we buy a new car or give to charity, our mood will adjust so we are no more or less happy than before. In fact, we need to experience a variety of emotions in order to keep us motivated and to strive forwards in life. One study into happiness showed that those who win the lottery are no more likely to be happy and satisfied in the long-term than those who are regarded as having dealt with a misfortune like being paralysed.

The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Show all 10 1 /10 The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Outer Hebrides The happiest places to live in Britain according to the latest well-being analysis released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Rex/Patrick Dieudonne / Robert Harding The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Mid and East Antrim OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Newark and Sherwood The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Purbeck OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Orkney Islands Chmee2/Creative Commons The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Winchester Wikipedia The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Fylde The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Antrim and Newtownabbey The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Lichfield The top 10 happiest places to live in Britain Fermanagh Mandatory Credit: Photo by Design Pics Inc/REX (928166a) Devenish Monastic Site, Co. Fermanagh VARIOUS Rex

“Happiness can be difficult to obtain, and even more difficult to sustain,” she explained. “The key obstacle is that sustaining very high levels of happiness over long periods of time are unlikely to have adaptive value.

“Imagine a world in which all of us were completely and blissfully happy all of the time. What would happen? Would we be driven to develop, to achieve, to seek out new partners, to have children? If we were completely happy, why would we do these things? And that is the problem.

“Consequently, the human condition has evolved to find happiness a somewhat slippery and elusive quality. We have it sometimes, we know what it feels like, and we know how good it is. When we don’t have it, we want it. When we have it, we want to hang on to it, yet somehow it seems to slip away again.

She adds that - annoyingly - happiness has far more value to us when it is slightly out of reach "by driving us to seek it out and keep it, yet always pulling away from us. This is why we quickly readjust to gains and revert to the level of happiness we had previously.”