Encouraged by the writings in this issue I’m sharing a view of happiness; as an everyday aspiration and accomplishment rather than an enormous concept with voracious goals that is out of reach. Whether that be a postdoctoral researcher’s contentment upon completion of a draft of their new article, or the sense of achievement a young doctoral student gifts themselves after reading a book chapter about research methodology without having to perpetually refer to a dictionary to find the meaning of each new word (which sadistically appears to be in every other sentence) or, the deep pride a supervisor feels upon their student’s successful defence of the viva voce, or a professor’s sense of triumph as they enjoy a full cup of hot tea in peace. Or, indeed, the interstitial space in one’s day when, for example, you unexpectedly bump into a colleague and seize the moment to stop and say, ‘hello!’ and as you chat, a solution to a niggling problem appears as if ‘out of nowhere’. From all of these seemingly minor moments comes a warm glow; a gentle increase of serotonin that radiates through the body to help us build happiness.