瑪麗 杰克斯著(zhù)
This is the first of a seven-part series on the Secrets of Wellbeing. The reason I’m launching into this series is because I’m excited about what is happening in the field of psychology and how new research supports ancient teachings.
這是幸福秘訣系列中七部分的第一部分。我深入這一系列的研究，是因為我對心理學(xué)領(lǐng)域的發(fā)現，還有新研究是如何支持早期的說(shuō)法非常感興趣。
A new direction called Positive Psychology has started to take centre stage. Instead of looking at problems and how to fix them, Positive Psychology investigates what allows us to experience life at its best. In this series I’ll discuss what we can learn from this research.
心理學(xué)有一個(gè)新的分支：積極心理學(xué)已經(jīng)開(kāi)始興起。積極心理學(xué)主要研究什么東西能讓我們有最好的人生體驗，而不是盯著(zhù)問(wèn)題，然后去解決問(wèn)題。在這一系列當中，我會(huì )討論我們從中學(xué)到的知識。
What is happiness?
什么是幸福？
This question is important for each of us because our view of happiness determines how we live our life.
這個(gè)問(wèn)題對我們每一個(gè)人來(lái)說(shuō)都非常重要，因為我們看待幸福的態(tài)度決定了我們的生活。
As Martin Seligman points out in his book Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment, there are three main ways how people view happiness. Read on to find out which one of these three ways describes the way you see happiness.
正如沙利格文在他的書(shū)《真正的幸?！防锾岬剑河萌碌姆e極心理學(xué)去發(fā)掘你幸福永恒的潛能。人們主要有三種看待幸福的方式，繼續閱讀，注意你看待幸福的方式是這三種方式的哪一種。
The Pleasant Life or the ‘life of enjoyment’
快樂(lè )的生活或者“享受生活”
In this way of life we seek out pleasures and try to avoid pain. The great thing about this way of life is that we truly taste and enjoy the special moments. Like starting a powder run on a snowboard or sharing a laugh with your partner.
這種方式的生活讓我們總是去找尋幸福，避免傷痛。這種生活方式最棒的一點(diǎn)就是我們真正的品嘗和享受生活的特殊時(shí)光。例如滑雪或者和搭檔分享快樂(lè )喜悅。
But there are some problems with this view of happiness. One is that pain is inevitable in life: relationships end, health can be precarious, and death is certain. This means that if we expect to gain happiness only from pleasure, we are ill equipped to deal with suffering.
但對于這種方式的快樂(lè )也存在一些問(wèn)題。一痛苦是生活中不可避免的，如關(guān)系破裂，健康問(wèn)題還有人終究是要死亡的。這就意味著(zhù)如果我們單想從快樂(lè )的時(shí)光獲取幸福的話(huà)，我們會(huì )疲于處理一些苦難。
The other problem is that the sum of our actual experiences, and how we judge those experiences in retrospect can be radically different. Seligman gives the following example:
另外一個(gè)問(wèn)題是：在我們所有的實(shí)際經(jīng)歷中，我們如果評價(jià)過(guò)去的經(jīng)歷是可以完全不同的。沙利格文給出了下面的例子：
When asked about a vacation – so he explains – you might answer, “It was great!”, even though the flow of experiences at the time may have been a series of unpleasant moments, such as sunburn, mosquito bites, upset stomach, scary situations, and a fear of blowing your budget.
當被問(wèn)及到度假怎么樣時(shí)，雖然當時(shí)經(jīng)歷了一些不愉快，如曬傷，蚊子咬，胃疼，驚險情況發(fā)生，擔心預算超支等，你仍然可能會(huì )說(shuō)：”簡(jiǎn)直太棒了“。
I think the same goes for pleasant experiences. I don’t know how it is for you, but after about a week of lying about on a tropical beach I tend to get restless. I miss being creative and productive. So, even though there may be a constant flow of pleasant moments, my overall experience is that of feeling unfulfilled.
我認為快樂(lè )的經(jīng)歷也會(huì )經(jīng)歷同樣的對話(huà)。我不知道你的情況是怎么樣的，但對不真實(shí)的熱帶沙灘假期的一周后，我就開(kāi)始感到焦躁不安。我懷念具有創(chuàng )造性和多彩的時(shí)光，所以，就算度過(guò)了愉快的時(shí)光，我整體的感受還是不夠完美。
The Good Life, or the ‘life of engagement’
好生活或者”投入生活“
This is a life where we find out what our signature strengths are and shape our life accordingly. This leads to flow – which means that we are at one with ourselves. When this happens, time stops. We feel at home, and self-consciousness fades away.
這樣的生活方式能讓我們發(fā)現我們的個(gè)人優(yōu)勢，相應的作用于我們的生活當中。這樣的生活方式會(huì )激發(fā)涌現，即我們身心合一。涌現出現的時(shí)候，時(shí)間好像停止了，自我意識也消失了。
But even when we develop flow, there can be moments when it isn’t enough. We see time leaking away and begin to wonder, “Is this all there is to life? Or is there more?”
但就算我們能夠做到涌現，還是會(huì )出現不夠深入的情況?？粗?zhù)時(shí)光流逝，我們會(huì )想知道：這就是生活的全部了嗎？或者說(shuō)生活并不止這些？
The Meaningful Life, or ‘life of affiliation’
有意義的人生或者”人生的聯(lián)系“
This way of life means using your signature strength in the service of something that you believe is larger than you are. As Martin Seligman says, “Joining and serving in things larger than you that you believe in while using your highest strengths is a recipe for meaning.” If you live life like this, you leave a legacy.
這種生活方式意味著(zhù)你要把你的個(gè)人優(yōu)勢運用到一些你堅信高于你的事物中。就像沙利格文所說(shuō)：”加入或服務(wù)于你堅信高于你的事物就好比盡全力就是有意義人生的秘訣?！叭绻愕纳钍沁@樣的話(huà)，你就真的給人類(lèi)就下了一大批的遺產(chǎn)。
What legacy will you leave?
你會(huì )留下什么？
I’m sure you will appreciate that each of these different views of happiness can shape our life in a particular way.
我確信你能領(lǐng)會(huì )到每個(gè)人生態(tài)度都能在特定的時(shí)期幫助我們塑造我們的人生。
Authentic happiness is made up of all these three strands.
真正的幸福就是由著(zhù)三個(gè)方面組成的
You might like to look at how these three strands play out in your life. Are they in balance? Is one of them stronger than the rest?
你也許想觀(guān)察一下這三個(gè)方面是如果在你的生活中呈現的，它們是平衡存在的嗎？會(huì )有其中一個(gè)高于其他的嗎？
What are your thoughts on happiness? I’d be interested to know.
我很感興趣：你關(guān)于幸福的想法是什么？
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