Earning more money, bagging the fabulous job you have always wanted, or travelling the world might seem like keys to happiness. But, according to "happiness expert" Paul Dolan, making simple changes is the key to bringing joy and purpose into your life.Dolan, a professor at the London School of Economics, claims that many of the things people believe will make them happy are fleeting and can actually alter their lives for the worse.So, although that coveted promotion might seem like the key to happiness, it is likely to bring longer hours and more stress.Likewise, travelling the world will separate people from loved ones. And studies have shown that nobody gets any happier with extra cash.However, he has identified five ways to be happier immediately. They are:listening to a favourite piece of music;spending five more minutes with someone you like; going outdoors; helping someone; and; having a new experience."It's important to change what you do, not how you think," Dolan said."You should listen to music you like listening to. That has a substantial effect on your mood. Your brain literally lights up. There is no other stimulation like music to arouse the brain."You spend five minutes more with someone you like and go outdoors. And helping someone is important. Helping other people is a very selfish thing to do. It's a great source of happiness for you. Just randomly help someone and see the difference."And having a new experience is important. The great thing about new experiences is that they slow time down. It's why life feels so slow for children because they are experiencing new things all the time. So if you want to slow down time then have as many new experiences as you can."Dolan also suggests changing passwords into affirmations of goals. Someone who wanted to stop spending money could change his banking password to "stopspendingcash".Making public promises is also a good way to achieving goals, Dolan said.Announcing on Twitter a plan to lose weight, give up smoking or stop drinking makes people more likely to keep it up.He believes it is important to "design" an environment that makes happiness more achievable, even it means cutting yourself off from those of your friends who encourage you in your bad habits."Most things we do are decided on through habit and on auto-pilot because the brain is forming habit-loops all the time to make us more efficient. It's why you can't remember if you have locked the house or switched the gas off."So it's important to design an environment that makes happiness possible. Willpower won't work. You need to make it easier for yourself. You need to think what makes you happy and change your environment to allow you to do whatever it is more easily."So, if going to the pub with friends makes you happy, then make it once a week on a Tuesday or once a month, because it's far harder to opt out of something than to opt in."Most things we think will make us happy won't."We're really happier if we are focusing on the person we are with and the thing we are doing right now. So make that something you enjoy." ..