通向快乐之路
A Wonder Drug
一种神奇的药
Ina taxicab on a rainy day in New York City, Gretchen Rubin, 41, suddenlyasked herself what she wanted most in life. "I realized I wanted to behappy," she recalls. "It was a lightning-bolt moment because I'd nevereven thought about it before."
在一个雨天纽约的一辆出租车上，突然想到问自己这一生最想要的是什么，“我才意识到自己想要快乐”，41岁的格雷琴·罗宾（Gretchen Rubin）女士回忆道，“就那么突然一个灵光，醒悟了，之前我甚至从来没有考虑过这个问题。”
Acouple of years ago, this wife, mother and former lawyer for JusticeSandra Day O'Connor launched a full-time happiness project to test-drivetraditional and newly minted approaches toward her life goal. She kept adaily gratitude journal, read a poem every day and had regular datenights with her husband, among other strategies. Now she swears she'scheerier.
几年前，这位为人妻母、担任过大法官桑德拉·戴·奥康纳（Sandra Day O'Connor）的律师的女性开始了一项全天快乐计划，将传统的和新兴的方法结合试用以达到她的人生目标。她的一系列行动计划包括，坚持每天写感恩日记，每天读首诗，和丈夫晚上定期的约会等等。她很肯定地说，现在比以前快乐了。
Come on, get happy!
为抓住幸福，加油！
Everyoneseems to be jumping on the get-happier bandwagon. Happiness is makingheadlines, selling books, inspiring scientific studies and spawninglaughter clubs and joyology workshops. The reason? As the burgeoningfield of positive psychology has shown, happy people thrive. They'remore creative and productive, earn more money, attract more friends,enjoy better marriages, stay healthier and even outlive their grumpierpeers.
似乎每个人都在努力搭上“变得快乐点”这趟列车。幸福成了大标题、畅销书，激起了科学研究，产生了微笑俱乐部和快乐学研讨会。为什么会这样？正如快速发展的积极心理学所显示的快乐的人会发展的更好。他们会更积极，更多产，挣的钱更多，有更多的朋友，享有更好的婚姻关系，更好的健康状况甚至比坏脾气的同龄人活得更久。
"Imaginea drug that causes you to live eight or nine years longer, make $15,000more a year, be less likely to get divorced," says Martin Seligman,PhD, who started the positive psychology movement almost a decade ago."Happiness seems to be that drug."
将近10年前发起了这项积极心理运动的马丁·塞里格曼博士说，“想象一下，有种药可以让你多活八九年，每年多挣15,000美元，降低离婚可能性。而快乐可能就是这种药。”
Butothers wonder, Is this just one more thing we feel pressured to achievein our overscheduled, overmeasured lives? How could there be one pathto happiness for all people? And if we aren't feeling blissful, are wefailures at happiness? Some skeptics dismiss "happichondria" as thelatest feel-good fad. "The notion that behavior modification can bringabout true happiness is as bogus as can be," says psychiatrist CharlesGoodstein, MD, of New York University.
但也有人会问，这会不会是原本已经超负荷的日程安排和过度克制的生活中的又一件给我们压力的事呢？怎么可能有一条适合所有人的快乐通路？如果无法体会幸福的感觉，我们就与快乐无缘了吗？有些怀疑论者把“幸福感”看作最新的自我感觉良好的风尚而不屑一顾。纽约大学的精神病学家查尔斯·古德斯坦（Charles Goodstein）博士称，“这种认为行为矫正可以带来真正快乐的观念是不确切的。”
Buthappiness researchers, backed by thousands of studies, say happiness ismeasurable and buildable. If you're willing to take a chance on theupside of life and shoot for your bliss, in spite of the naysayers,here's help laying the groundwork.
但是研究快乐的人员基于大量的研究称，快乐是可衡量的，也是可拥有的。如果你想尝试进入生活的良性循环，争取幸福，尽管有人不认同，这里还是有些助你打基础的工作可以做的。
Genetics,as research on 4,000 sets of twins has demonstrated, accounts for about50 percent of your happiness quotient. But even if you inherited thefamily frown instead of joy genes, you're not fated to a life of gloom.Just don't pin your hopes on advantages like health, wealth, educationand good looks -- those bring only somewhat greater happiness than whatthose who are less blessed feel. Unless you're extremely poor or gravelyill, life circumstances account for only about 10 percent of happiness.The other 40 percent depends on what you do to make yourself happy.
据对4,000对双胞胎的研究表明，基因因素占到了快乐指数构成的50%。但即使你错失家庭的快乐基因而遗传了负面情绪的基因，也不等于你就注定会一辈子忧郁。不要完全依赖于健康、财富、学历和外表方面的优势——这些只能带来比那些在这几方面处于劣势的人多一点点的快乐。除非你极其贫穷或患重病，否则生活环境只占到你快乐指数的约10%。另40%取决于你为争取快乐做了哪些努力。
That'sthe tricky part. Most of us assume that external things -- a biggerhouse, a better job, a winning lottery ticket -- will brighten ourlives. While they do bring temporary delight, the thrill invariablyfades. "After 18 years of studying happiness, I fell into the same trapas everyone else," says psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, author ofThe How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life YouWant. "I was so excited to get a new car, a hybrid I'd wanted for a longtime, but within two months, driving it became routine. Happiness islike weight loss. We all know how to take off a few pounds; the trick ismaintaining it."
这才是关键的部分。大多数人认为外部的因素——大点的房子，较好的工作，中奖的彩票——会给我们的生活增色。然而这些只能给我们暂时的快乐，它们终将褪色。心理学家桑亚·柳博米尔斯基（Sonja Lyubomirsky）博士说，“在研究了快乐18年后，我也和别人一样陷入了同一个困境”，她曾著有《如何获得快乐：获得你向往生活的科学方法》。“当我拿到期盼已久的双动力汽车时，真的兴奋不已，可不到两个月，开着它成了再平常不过的事。快乐就像减肥，我们都知道怎样能够减掉几磅肉，可关键在于维持。
Intheir research, Lyubomirsky and her colleagues found that the key toenduring joy is to look beyond fleeting pleasures, to the other pillarsof what Seligman calls authentic happiness: engagement with family, workor a passionate pursuit, and finding meaning from some higher purpose."Different methods are a better fit for different people," Lyubomirskyexplains. "Keeping a daily gratitude journal seems hokey to some people,but writing a letter of gratitude may be very meaningful." Timing and"doses" also matter. Performing five acts of kindness on one day, shefound, yielded a significant increase in well-being, while acts ofkindness on different days didn't. "To sustain happiness," sheemphasizes, "you have to make the effort and commitment every day forthe rest of your life.
柳博米尔斯基（Lyubomirsky）和她的团队在研究中发现持久快乐的关键在于超越短暂的快乐，去关注快乐的核心，塞利格曼(Seligman)将之称为真正的快乐：和家人的约会，工作或者某个热切的追求，以及从更高的目标中寻找某种意义。“不同的人适合不同的方法，”柳博米尔斯基解释说，“对有些人来说每天写感恩日记有点虚情假意，写感恩信更实在。”时机和“剂量”也很重要。她发现一天做5件善意的事，会显著增加快乐，而分散不在一天内做，则没有这种效果。她强调，“要维持快乐，你余生的每一天都要努力奉献。”
Thelong run generally brings greater contentment, according to studiesthat chart the trajectory of happiness over a life span. After even themost joyous childhood, happiness typically declines in the teens throughthe early 20s, but, believe it or not, increases as we age. "Youngpeople tend to pay more attention to the bad," explainsneuropsychologist Stacey Wood, PhD, of Scripps College. "As we getolder, we learn to regulate and overcome this reaction."
根据对整个生命过程的幸福轨迹图谱的研究，这样的长期行为通常会带来更大的满足感。在人生的头20年中，度过即便是最快乐的童年后，十几岁时，快乐会明显的减少。但，信不信由你，随着我们逐渐变老，快乐又会逐渐增加。“年轻人总是更关注事情不好的方面，”斯克里普斯学院（Scripps College）的神经心理学家斯特西·伍德（Stacey Wood）博士解释说，“随着年龄渐长，我们学会了控制和克服这种反应。”
Infact, some experts say, happiness seems to rise even into old age."Older adults don't react as intensely to life events, and they reportfewer negative emotions and more positive ones," says Wood.
事实上，有些专家认为，即使是年事已高的人，幸福感还会增加。“老年人不会对生活中的事件作强烈的反应，他们较少传播消极情绪，而更倾向于传播积极的情绪，”伍德博士说。
Noteveryone agrees. Nora Ephron, author of I Feel Bad About My Neck, saysthat, yes, after a certain age you tend to factor the realization thatlife is short into your decisions. "And you try to eliminate people andthings (like bad meals) that don't make you happy," she says. "But ofcourse, all this is overlaid by a certain sadness because this is thetime when people start to get sick, and that absolutely cuts into thehappiness quotient."
可并不是所有人都同意这一观点。《我可怜的脖子》（I Feel Bad About My Neck)一书的作者诺拉·依弗朗(Nora Ephron)说，“的确，到一定年龄后你会意识到生命已经短到影响你的决定。你会试着忽略那些让你不快的人和事（比如不如意的饮食），然而，所有这些都被某种悲伤笼罩着，因为这时人们往往开始患上各种疾病，这一状况无疑会降低他们的快乐指数。”
Dare to Laugh Out Loud
勇敢大声笑出来
Regardlessof your age or temperament, you can feel happier right this minute,claims psychologist Will Fleeson, PhD, of Wake Forest University, whosays he has found a surefire strategy to boost the spirit: Do something,however small, that is energetic, adventurous, assertive or bold. Whenvolunteers recorded their feelings throughout the day, all felt happierwhen active and engaged, regardless of whether they were naturallyintroverted or extroverted.
忽略年龄和性格，你就能更好的享受此时此刻，维克森林大学（Wake Forest University）的心理专家威尔·弗雷森（Will Fleeson）博士说。他声称发现了提振情绪的绝好方法：做点事，无论有多小，可以是充满活力的，大胆的，也可以是武断的，鲁莽的。无论受试者是主动的还是被动的，或者原本性格是内向的还是外向的，当他们记录下一整天的感受时，都感觉更快乐。
"Thebiggest surprise in this research was that you can change your behaviorand make yourself feel happier readily and easily," says Fleeson, whofound that almost any active behavior -- even singing or dancing to theradio -- has a positive effect on mood. "Laughing out loud is exactlythe kind of adventurous, bold action that makes you feel happier."
“这项研究中最令人吃惊的是：你可以管理自己的行为，容易地让自己更快乐，”弗雷森说，他发现任何积极的行为——即使是跟着收音机里的音乐节奏唱歌跳舞——也会对情绪有积极影响。“大声笑出来确实是一种让你更快乐的大胆、勇敢的行为。”
Simplyputting on a happy face, as the classic song lyric advises, can make adifference. In experiments at Clark University, psychologist JamesLaird, PhD, hooked volunteers up to sham electrodes and instructed themto contract and relax specific facial muscles, so they were, in effect,smiling for no reason at all. With the corners of their mouths pulledup, most of the volunteers rated cartoons funnier than did thoseinstructed to pull their eyebrows together as if frowning.
就如经典抒情歌曲唱的：面带微笑，就会有改变。在克拉克大学（Clark University）的试验中，詹姆斯·莱尔德（James Laird）博士将受试者连接于假电极之间，让他们收缩、放松面部的某些肌肉，以做到能够毫无缘由地微笑。相较于那些被要求皱眉的人，大部分嘴角上扬的受试者认为卡通片更有趣。
Inother studies, smiling individuals recalled happier memories than thosewith furled brows or neutral expressions. Whenever we smile, nerves andmuscles may transmit messages that turn on happiness centers in thebrain, Laird speculates. "The bottom line is that a smile doesn't costanything and may do you good." So why not grin?
其它研究还显示，和皱着眉或不带感情的表达相比，微笑的人回想的记忆更快乐。每当我们微笑时，神经和肌肉就会传递信息使大脑的快乐中心兴奋，莱尔德猜测说。“不管怎么说，微笑不需要任何成本，却对你有好处。”那么，为什么不咧嘴微笑呢？
Still,not everyone is sold on the power of positive thinking. According toBowdoin College psychologist Barbara Held, PhD, for those with aglass-half-empty view of the world, all this happy talk can be downrightdepressing. In her book Stop Smiling, Start Kvetching, Held wages waragainst the "tyranny of the positive attitude," the put-on-a-happy-facemind-set, which she believes holds too much sway in American culture.Not everyone can strike a pose of sunny optimism in the face of life'smishaps, Held says, and not everyone should. "If you try to force peopleto cope in ways that don't fit their nature, it can do harm."
然而，并不是每个人都认同积极思考的影响力。据包登学院（Bowdoin College）的心理学专家芭芭拉·海德（Barbara Held）博士称，对于那些倾向于看到半杯水空的那半部分杯子的人来说，所有关于快乐的谈论无疑让他们更加沮丧。在《想抱怨就抱怨，不要勉强微笑》（Stop Smiling, Start Kvetching）一书中，她向“积极态度的统摄”和面带微笑的思想模式（她认为这一模式在美国文化中占据了过多的分量)宣战了。海德认为，面对人生的意外时，并不是所有人都能表现得乐观，也不是每个人都应该如此。“强迫人们以不适合他们本性的方式应对事情是有害的。”
Soif you're going through a rough patch, don't feel bad about feelingbad. "When someone's in pain over the loss of a job, the end of arelationship or the death of a loved one, telling them to be moreoptimistic and look on the bright side just adds insult to injury," Heldsays. The person now feels bad for not coping more effectively, on topof everything else. Instead, having the freedom to complain to a friend,what Held calls creative kvetching, can be cathartic. Her message: Thepath to contentment depends on finding the coping strategy that suitsyou best, even if that means expressing anger or sadness along the way.
所以，如果你正经历一次不如意，不要因为感觉不好而沮丧。海德说，“当有人因失去工作，结束了某段关系或深爱的人离世而痛苦时，告诉他们要积极一点，看看事情好的一面都无异于在其伤口上撒盐。”现在人们因为不能有效应对挫折比其他任何事都要沮丧。相反，随意向朋友抱怨，就如海德所说的创造性的抱怨，却可以让人发泄。她的观点是：通往满足的路有赖于寻找最适合你的应对策略，即使沿途要表达你的愤怒或悲伤。
Smile Power
微笑的力量
Whatevertheir disposition, Americans have plenty of reasons to smile, says WillWilkinson, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, who recentlyreviewed social, economic and political perspectives on our nationalhappiness. "We have more wealth, health and comforts than 99.9 percentof the people who have ever lived on the planet, and we feel as good asanyone ever has," he says.
“无论天性如何，美国人总有很多理由微笑，”卡托研究所（the Cato Institute）的政策分析师威尔·威尔金森（Will Wilkinson）说道。他最近从社会、经济和政治角度回顾了国民幸福，总结说，“我们拥有的财富、健康和公共设施比世界上99.9%的人都要多，却并没有比别人感觉更快乐。”
GretchenRubin says her personal quest for happiness has infused her life withmeaning: "I realized that by working hard to keep a lighter tone, bytaking time to be silly, to laugh more, to sing every morning, I managedto bring about deeper changes in myself -- more loving and consideratefeelings and actions. That's why it's a duty to be happy. When I put inthe effort to take the steps that will make me happier, I'm far betterable to make other people happier too."
格雷琴·鲁宾（Gretchen Rubin）说她在快乐方面的探索给她的生命注入了意义：“我意识到可以通过努力工作来保持较轻松的感觉，有时候傻气一点，多笑一点，早晨唱唱歌，这样做给我带来了较深刻的变化——有更多仁爱和体谅的感受及行动。这就是我们为什么要快乐。当我努力做着那些可以让我更快乐的事，也能够更好地让别人快乐。”
10 Ways to Turn That Frown Upside Down
10个颠覆愁眉的方法
1.Be less virtual, more 3-D. "If there's one thing that separates happypeople from ridiculously happy people, it's the quality of their socialrelationships," says psychologist Todd Kashdan of George MasonUniversity. If you sit at a computer all day, get up and indulge in somehuman contact instead. Even time with strangers ramps up your sense ofwell-being, says Kashdan. "You laugh much harder when you're with otherpeople in a theater than when you watch a movie at home."
1.少虚假，多真实。乔治梅森大学的心理学专家托德·卡什丹说，“如果有什么可以区分真快乐和假快乐的人，那就是他们社会关系的质量。”如果你整天坐在电脑前，那就起身参加一些社交活动。即使是和陌生人在一起也会增加你的幸福感觉，卡什丹说道。“和别人在剧院要比你在家看电影难笑得出来得多。”
2.4, 6, 8 … who do we appreciate? Making a list of things you're gratefulfor may seem silly, but it's been proven to work. In fact, countingyour blessings may be the single most helpful thing you can do for yourhappiness quotient, say experts.
2.4,6,8，。。。。。。想想有哪些人我们应该感激？把你要感激的事列张单子看似很傻，但事实证明这确实有用。专家们认为，细数福分可能是对提升快乐指数唯一最有帮助的事。
3.Rack 'em up. Think of every positive experience during the day as abead on a string, and see how they add up. This simple exercise makesyou focus on even the smallest positive moments, like a fellow driverwaving you to go first at a four-way stop, or an e-mail from a friend ina spam-filled inbox.
3.积累正面的经历。想想每个有助益的经历，就像细绳上的小珠子，看着它们一个个窜起来。这一简单的练习能让你关注到那些哪怕是极微小的正面时刻，比如在四向停车场，并排的车司机示意你先行，或者是充斥着垃圾邮件的邮箱里看到一封朋友的来信。
4.Think memorable, not material. If you have to choose between, say, anew car and a family vacation, pack your bags. Even the sexiest sportscar becomes routine over time. But the memory of a good time withfriends and loved ones will last forever.
4.想想事物的纪念意义，不要过分注重物质。如果你必须在两个事物之间选择，比如说，一辆新车和一次家庭旅行，那就背起你的行囊吧。即使是最炫的跑车，过段时间也会成为平常物。但一段和爱人、朋友一起的美好记忆却可以永远保鲜。
5.Go to the funny side. "Humor is like salt on meat," observespsychologist Martin Seligman, PhD. "It amplifies everything." Watchreruns of classic shows that never fail to make you laugh. Try to smileat the absurdities of life. And when you read the jokes in this issue,laugh out loud.
5.用幽默的眼光看事情。“幽默就像是菜里的盐”心理学家马丁·塞里格曼（Martin Seligman）博士说，“它可以阐述一切。”经典的表演重播再多次都能让你发笑。试着笑对生活的不如意。下次读到这方面的笑话时，大声笑出来吧。
6.Escape to your stress-free zone. Think of a place where you always feelcalm and happy. Then, when you're tense and miserable, call it upmentally, with as much detail as possible. Smell the suntan lotion. Feelthe sun. Hear the sea. Play this video in your mind when your spiritsslump.
6.逃离到无压区。想想看有什么地方可以让你感觉平静和快乐的。当你紧张痛苦时，想想那里，尽可能详细点。闻闻晒黑乳液的味道，感受一下阳光，倾听一下大海的声音。情绪低落时就想想这些。
7.See the glass as half full. Whenever possible, try to look at thebright side. You might be feeling like your life right now is one giantdownhill slope. But if you stop and assess it honestly, you'll see youactually have it pretty good. And if things truly are against you, seeNo. 8.
7.看看满的那半杯水。尽可能地多看事情好的一面。也许你感觉自己的生活正处于下坡路，不妨停下来客观地评价一下，你会发现其实生活还是挺好的。如果你确实处于困境，那就看看第8条。
8.Find your inner artist. Think back to when you had time for creativeexpression. Were you in a rock band? Did you write poetry? Did you lovetinkering with cars? Remember feeling so engaged that you lost track oftime? Why not pick up that Fender (or fender) again? Joyful expressioncan bring happiness.
8.发觉你的内在艺术细胞。想想如果你有时间可以做些创造性的表达，你会是在某个摇滚乐队吗？你会写诗吗？还记得你因太忙而忽略的时间足迹吗？为什么不重拾旧好？愉悦的表达能够给你带来快乐。
9.Do good. Acts of kindness, however small, deliver as much pleasure tothe giver as to the getter. For example, a real paper-and-pen letter,telling someone who's helped you how much it meant to you, is a surefirecheer-upper. So is giving time, money or both to a good cause.
9.做善事。友好的行为，无论其有多小，都能够给接受者和给予者带来快乐。比如，收到一封纸笔写的信告诉你，你的帮助是多么重要时，绝对是件非常高兴的事。那么就花些时间和金钱去做善事吧。
10.Seize the moment. Rather than waiting to celebrate a big event, why notdo it today? Bake a cake just because. Take someone out to lunch. Buypink nail polish.Have sex in the afternoon. Raise a toast to a good day.Go ahead, be happier.
10. 把握现在。 与其等着庆祝某件大事，为什么不现在开始呢?想烤块蛋糕就烤块，喊上谁出去吃午饭，买瓶粉色的指甲油，下午和爱人亲热一下，为某个好日子举杯。来吧，让自己快乐点。
